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Why do people refer to 'sweet potatoes' as 'yams'?

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Sweet Potatoes, often called 'yams', are a dicot (a plant having two embryonic seed leaves) and are from the Convolvulacea or morning glory family. Yams Yams are closely related to lilies and ... Thus, 'soft' sweet potatoes were referred to as 'yams' to distinguish them from the 'firm' varieties. Today the U.S. read more

People refer to sweet potatoes as yams because they resemble yams, even though they are actually different. This started a long time ago. There were two types of sweet potato in America and there was a need to differentiate between the two of them. Sweet potatoes and yams are different: Yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. read more

Yams have a unique taste, too. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams are less sweet and much more starchy and dry. They also tend to have a good shelf life. However, certain varieties store better than others. In the US, true yams can be tough to find. They are imported and rarely found in local grocery stores. read more

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