The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams

I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
~Scarlett O'Hara

That sweet potato scene was so very memorable. Yes, it was sweet potatoes, not yams. It turns out there is a difference!

Sweet Potatoes:

• Grow in the Southern United States
• Grow in the ground
• Are orange or yellow with orange flesh

Yams:

• Grow in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Grow on vines
• Are black or brown and have off-white, purple, or red flesh

Yams and sweet potatoes are not even related vegetables. Yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes, thus are sweeter of flavor. Sweet potatoes are tubers with elongated ends. Yams can grow up to a seven foot length!

A succinct comparison of sweet potatoes and yams.

Note: I love sweet potatoes and prepare them in many ways. After learning about the differences between sweet potatoes and yams (mainly seeing images) I am not sure that I have ever actually had a yam.

Something else I learned: The word yam comes from an African word, which means "to eat."