I Yam Not

For the last time, they’re not yams. While it may seem difficult to get used to serving candied sweet potatoes every Thanksgiving, at least you’ll be botanically correct.

The yam is a very specific plant that is a staple across the Caribbean, in tropical Asia and in Africa. It is not orange and it is not sweet and it is never--at least to the best of our knowledge--served with marshmallows.

What we cook in America is the sweet potato. The light-skinned, dry-fleshed variety is a sweet potato, and the dark-skinned, moist-fleshed variety, which is frequently called a yam, is a sweet potato.

The confusion stems from regional terminology--mixed with a good bit of marketing. Traditionally, sweet potatoes were grown in Georgia and North Carolina, where they are called--correctly--sweet potatoes. The potatoes of choice here are light-skinned varieties, including the old favorites Centennial and Porto Rico, which have been pushed aside by a new variety called Jewel, first released in 1971.

In the early 1930s a new variety of sweet potato called the Garnet was developed by Julienne Miller at Louisiana State University. It was darker in color and the cooked flesh was moister. To differentiate it from the other sweet potatoes, it was called a yam (there is some historical validity for this name, as that was the traditional slave name for sweet potatoes). Now the Garnet has been edged out by a new variety called the Beauregard.

Use the darker-skinned potatoes for cooking whole. For mashing, use the lighter-skinned varieties, which will be lighter and fluffier.

Today, North Carolina and Louisiana are the nation’s main sweet potato producers. It may surprise you to know that California is No. 3. The area right around Livingston, in Merced County, grows some 80% of the state’s crop.

This year’s harvest is promising in both California and Louisiana. Early rains in North Carolina reduced the crop and pushed the harvest back almost two weeks. Prices are low.