Sweet Potato (not to be confused with the Yam) is a Nutritious Tuber

Although often used interchangeably the sweet potato and the yam are not the same vegetable. True yams are native to Africa and seldom seen in the North America. And unlike the sweet potato which is seen in your local grocery store, yams can grow up to 100 pounds.

The sweet potato is a sweet tuber unrelated to the “Irish” potato and is a relative of the bindweed in the morning glory family.  The sweet potato was cultivated in prehistoric Peru and can be found throughout the tropic regions. Sweet potatoes were also cultivated in Polynesia before 1250 and reached New Zealand by the 14^th century.

Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks discovered the Maoris growing sweet potatoes growing them when they landed in 1769. Columbus introduced sweet potatoes to Spain, which were widely cultivated by the mid-16^th century. Sweet potatoes reached England by way of the Canary Islands about the same time as the “common” potato in Elizabethan times.

The sweet potato and their leaves contain antibacterial and fungicidal substances which are used in folk medicine. In Shakespeare’s day they were sold in crystallized slices with sea holly (eryngo) as an aphrodisiac. Similarly, The Empress Josephine introduced sweet potatoes to her companions, who were soon serving them to stimulate the passions of their lovers.

Sweet potatoes, naturally sweet and high in fiber, are an excellent source of beta carotene, carbohydrates, potassium, folate, vitamins C and B(6). The sweet potato plant also contains sterols which are good cholesterol lowering compounds. The yam, in contrast, is not rich in vitamins but is a good source potassium and starch.