SWEET potatoes

Sweet Potatoes, Yams ????

The lovely tubers Americans think of as yams are actually a type of sweet potato grown in the south.  A true honest to god yam is the hard, scaly, root of the Dioscorea genus while sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are part of the morning glory family. "Yams" as we know them are actually bright orange sweet potatoes. Marketers called the bright orange sweet potato yams when it came on the market to distinguish it from the light colored sweet potatoes. 


Yams grow in tropical climates only and are mostly imported from the Caribbean. Sweet potatoes grow in tropical and temperate climates. 
 potato colors range from bright orange to light tan. Bright orange sweet potatoes are full of beta carotene yams are not. Beta carotene is  a water soluble carotene that is converted into vitamin A in our bodies. One cup of cooked sweet potatoes over twice the daily recommended intake of vitamin A. 


North Carolina is a big sweet potato growing state check out the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission for more fun sweet potato facts and recipes.


Try them more than once or twice a year to enjoy the wonderful taste and fabulous health benefits.
Here is a recipe to try out:
Sweet Potato Biscuits 
 a Mother Earth News recipe


Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½  tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp cold butter

1 cup buttermilk (can use milk)

1 cup mashed or pureed sweet potatoes

1 tbsp honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two knives — the mixture should look like course meal. Mix together the milk, sweet potatoes, and maple syrup or honey. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture just comes together. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead, using a light touch, until the dough is fairly smooth. Use a little more flour if the dough is too sticky, remembering that short and gentle kneading will give you the most tender biscuit. Pat the dough out to a thickness of three-quarter to 1 inch. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes, or until just golden. Serve hot! Makes approximately 20 biscuits