Yam (vegetable)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the vegetable sometimes called yam in the United States, see sweet potato. For the vegetable called yam in New Zealand, see Oxalis tuberosa.
Yam
Yams at Brixton market in London
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Genus: Dioscorea
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers. These are perennialherbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. There are many cultivars of yam. Although some varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are also called yam in parts of the United States and Canada, it is not part of the family Dioscoreaceae but belongs in the unrelated morning glory family Convolvulaceae.
The true yam is a versatile vegetable. It can be barbecued, roasted, fried, grilled, boiled, baked, smoked and when grated it is processed into a dessert recipe.
Contents
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• 1 Description
o 1.1 Major cultivated species
1.1.1 Dioscorea rotundata and D. cayenensis
1.1.2 D. alata
1.1.3 D. opposita
1.1.4 D. bulbifera
1.1.5 D. esculenta
1.1.6 D. dumetorum
1.1.7 D. trifida
• 2 Production
• 3 Harvesting
• 4 Storage
• 5 Toxicity
• 6 Nutritional value
• 7 Phytochemicals
• 8 Comparison to other staple foods
• 9 Preparation
o 9.1 Africa
o 9.2 The Philippines
o 9.3 Vietnam
o 9.4 Indonesia
o 9.5 Japan
o 9.6 India
o 9.7 Nepal
o 9.8 The West
• 10 Cultural aspects
o 10.1 Nigeria and Ghana
10.1.1 New Yam Festival (Igbo in South-East, Nigeria)
o 10.2 Elsewhere
• 11 Etymology
• 12 Other uses of the term yam
• 13 See also
• 14 References
o 14.1 Notes
o 14.2 Bibliography
• 15 External links
Description[edit]
Sweet potatoes
Yam
Sweet potatoes and yam, freshly pulled out of ground. Sweet...