Sweet potato -- or yam?

[goalmouth]

Clearly, a yam is NOT a sweet potato, right?

I tried telling that to the stock guy at Shop-Rite last night, but he averred.

Yams are long and pointy, sweet potatoes are round, right? RIGHT?

Please, someone help me out here. I don't want to settle for a fubar tuber.

 

[Cadet]

Yams and sweet potatoes are indeed different. Had this debate last week. What you're most likely to find in U.S. grocery stores are sweet potatoes.

 

[writing irish]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yams

I (heart) Wikipedia disambiguation pages.

 

[leo1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yams

I (heart) Wikipedia disambiguation pages.

from the link:

Yam may refer to:

Yam (vegetable), the common name for members of genus Dioscorea
A colloquial name for the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), particularly in the United States

so yeah, while technically they are different vegetables, the terms are used interchangeably in supermarkets.

fwiw, i love sweet potatoes. mashed, grilled, fried, baked, pretty much any way you can do 'em up. and they're good for you, too.