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Yam is the common name for members of the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae). There are more than 150 different varieties of yam. Some species are cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

The word yam comes from Portuguese inhame or Spanish ñame, which both ultimately derive from the Wolof word nyami, meaning "to eat". They are used in a similar fashion to potatoes, and are sometimes called a potato substitute, though in areas where yams are grown, potatoes are the newer vegetable.

Yam tubers can grow up to seven feet (approx. two meters) in length and weigh up to 150 pounds (68 kg). The yam has a rough skin which is difficult to peel, but which softens after heating. Yam skins vary in color from dark brown to light pink. The majority of the yam is composed of a much softer substance known as the "meat". This substance ranges in color from white to bright orange in ripe yams.

Yams are a primary agricultural commodity in West Africa and New Guinea. They were first cultivated in Africa and Asia about 8000 B.C., probably because they were able to flourish in environments where growing leafy vegetables and keeping livestock was difficult. To this day, the yam tuber remains crucial to survival in the region; it can be stored for four to six months without refrigeration, which makes it a valuable resource for the yearly period of food scarcity at the beginning of the wet season.

Yams are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Palpifer sordida.

Preparation

Yams of African species must be cooked to be safely eaten because various natural substances in raw yams can cause illness if consumed. Preparing some species of yam is a time-consuming process, involving days of pounding, leaching, and boiling to remove the toxins. Yams may be served fried, boiled or pounded into a paste. In the Philippines, the purple ube variety of yam (Dioscorea alata, also known in India as ratalu or violet yam) is eaten as a sweetened dessert called halaya, and is also an ingredient in another Filipino dessert, halo halo.

An exception to the cooking rule is the Japanese mountain yam (Dioscorea opposita), known as nagaimo or yamaimo depending on the root shape. It is eaten raw and grated, after only a relatively minimal preparation: the whole tubers are briefly soaked in a vinegar-water solution, to neutralize irritant oxalate crystals found in their skin. The raw vegetable is starchy and bland, mucilaginous when grated, and may be eaten plain as a side dish, or added to noodles.

Yams and sweet potatoes

In the United States, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are often referred to as "yams". Sweet potatoes labeled (incorrectly, according to some) as "yams" are widely available in U.S. grocery stores. True yams are only found in specialty markets such as those that serve Asian or Caribbean communities.

Top Yam Producers - 2005
(million metric ton)
26.6
3.9
3.0
2.3
0.6
0.3
World Total 39.9
Source:
UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)*

In contrast, people in New Zealand use the word "yam" to refer to the oca (Oxalis tuberosa), and the word "kumara" to refer to the sweet potato.

Yam culture

The coming of the yams (one of the numerous versions from Maré in Pene Nengone (Loyalty Islands - New Caledonia) *

In many societies yams are so important that one can speak of a yam culture. Growing the tuber is associated with magic; the best ones must be given to the chief or king; there is a series of myths connected to a divine origin; a farmer may gain a lot of prestige by growing the largest or longest yam; etc.

Selected species

External links and resources

Root vegetables | Dioscoreales | Tropical agriculture | Staple foods

Ku | Soaⁿ-io̍h | Yams | Yams | Ignamo | Igname | 마 | ヤマノイモ | Yam | Pochrzyn | Inhame | Jamssit | 山药

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Yam (vegetable)".

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