It’s harvest season for sweet potatoes in Virginia. Across the southeast, farmers are busy pulling rosy, orange-fleshed vegetables from their fields – but wait, are those actually yams?
“No, we don’t grow yams in Virginia,” said Ed Olsen, Virginia Cooperative Extension consumer horticulture specialist. “Yams are a tropical tuber that require a long, hot growing season, which we don’t have in the United States.”
That’s right. The orange, oblong vegetables you can find fresh in the produce section or candied and packaged in cans are all sweet potatoes, even if the label says “yams.”
“There are many different kinds of sweet potatoes,” Olsen said. “They can have red, orange, and even purple skin with white, orange, or purple flesh — but they’re all sweet potatoes.”
Sweet potatoes are related to morning glories – weedy vines with attractive purple or white flowers – and grow well in Virginia, where they are produced commercially and in home gardens.
Yams are members of an entirely different plant family. They have rough, brown skin and can be very large. Though you can find imported yams in some specialty supermarkets, they are uncommon in the United States.
“Most products labeled “yams” in our supermarkets are actually orange-fleshed sweet potatoes,” Olsen said.
The major differences:
- Appearance: Sweet potatoes usually have tapered ends and smooth skin. Yams are long, cylindrical, and have rough, bark-like skin.
- Color: Sweet potatoes come in many different colors and can have orange, white, or bright purple flesh. Yams have brown skin and light-colored, starchy flesh.
- Labeling and availability: True yams are rare in U.S. grocery stores — most products labeled “yams” are actually sweet potatoes. True yams are sometimes available at specialty supermarkets.
“People can use whatever common name they’re comfortable with,” Olsen said. “The important thing to know is that we grow plenty of delicious sweet potatoes right here in Virginia. They are a versatile and healthy vegetable that makes a great addition to your holiday plate.”
About Olsen
Ed Olsen is Virginia Cooperative Extension’s consumer horticulture specialist and director of the Extension Master Gardener program. He is a member of the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and has experience in the horticulture industry and formerly served as a high school agriculture teacher.
By Devon Johnson
