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COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

YAM


Barer-Stein, Thelma. 1999. You EatWhat You Are. A FireFly Book, [GT 2850 .B371 1999]
is the nutritious white yam. It is a powerfully symbolic staple food frequently staving off malnutrition and starvation, particularly in West Africa. [African, p. 30]
Hedrick, U.P. editor. 1919. Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants. Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II. Albany, J.B Lyon Company, State Printers. [References Available]
Under the genreal name of yams the large, fleshy, tuberous roots of several species of Dioscorea are cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. Many varieties known only in cultivation are described as species by some authors. In the Fiji Islands alone, says Milne, there are upwards of 50 varieties, some growing to an enormous size, occasionally weighing from 50 to 80 pounds but the general average is from two to eight pounds. In Australia, according to Drummond, there is a native yam which affords the principal vegetable food of the natives.
Garrett, Theodore Francis (edited by). 1898. the Encyclopedia of Practical Cookery. L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C. London. Vol. iv
is an American root, consisting of numerous species of the Dioscorea family. Those best known to us (Dioscorea sativa) are large, fleshy, tuberous roots resembling Jerusalem artichokes in peculiarity of irregular growth, and potatoes in constitution.

YAM is a climbing plant. Its very large root is edible and is prepared in the same way as the sweet potato. A starch product is also extracted from yams and is much used in cookery and confectionery. It is called Guiana arrowroot.


Grimes, William. 2004. Eating Your Worlds. Oxford University Press.
is the edible starchy tuber of a climbing plant, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical countries. Some call it a sweet potato. This webber differentiates between yams and sweetpotatoes. -
ORIGIN from Portuguese inhame or obsolete Spanish iname, probably of West African origin.
Excerpts from Hawkes, Alex D. 1968. A World of Vegetable Cookery. Simon and Schuster, New York.
In this country, the word Yam has long been used as a synonym for sweet potato, the two names being oddly interchangeable in most areas. This is unfortunate and confusing, since the true troipical Yams-totally distinctive vines producing diverse, delicious underground (and above-ground) tubers-have long been found in our Latin American and Oriental markets.

The true Yams are referable to the fascinating genus Dioscorea (of the Dioscorea Family), an assemblage of some 250 species and numberless horticulotural variants, mostly from the warm countries of the world. The vines twine clockwise, often have strongly angled or winged stems, and support dense, glossy, pretty leaves varying from heart-shaped to several-lobed. Some of these plants are grown as ornamentals, and a considerable number are cultivated extensively as food. Interestingly enough, some prodeuce abundant tubers well up the stems, giving them the apt vernacular of Air Potato; these are rather reminiscent of common white potatoes. These aerial tubers are edible, although often so bitter that they require cooking in several changes of water.

The Dioscoreas most important to us are those producing subterranean tubers. In some of these the oblong tubers measure only a few inches in length and weigh but a pound or so. These have white or yellowish flesh, and when properly prepared,they excel the finest of white potatoes. The best varieties (very little critical development of choice kinds have been done here, despite the importance of the group) are known as name (pronounced nyah-may) in Cuba and Puerto Rico, yampi or yampie in Jamaica and Panama, and cush-cush in Trinidad and Guyana.

Theen there is the prodigious Giant or White Yam, today widely cultivated in the tropics under a wealth of other names. This is a showy profuse vine (Dioscorea aloata and other variants) with underground tubers weighing as much as one hundred pounds, and attaining lengths of more than eight feet! The texture and flavor of most of these forms are inferior to those of their smaller brethren, but they are important food plants, often encountered in native markets from the Antilles to India.

Other large-tuber kinds of Yams include the Oriental or Chinese Yam-also known as Chinese Potato, Cinnamon Vine, tai-sue (Chinese), or nagaimo (Japanese)-with cylindrical, oblonbg, often irregular roots up to two feet long and six inches thick. Their outer-most skin is gray or blackish, the innter one purple, and the flesh is white and rather moist.

YAM, SHAN YAO, KO-IMO, SATO IMO(field yam); ARBI, GHUIYAN; ARVI, BANDA, COLCASIA; YAMA NO IMO, MOUNTAIN YAM, KELADI, UBE, UB I, YAM BEAN, YUM
Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.
Tubers of perennial climbing plants of a number of species of Dioscorea; D. rotundata, white yam, and D. cayenensis, yellow or Guinea yam, water, trifoliate or Chinese yam; a major food in parts of Africa and also the Far East. Analysis per 100 g: 73 g water, 30 g starch, 2 g protein, 130 kcal (560 kJ), small amounts of B vitamins, 10 mg vitamin C. In the United States sweet potatoes are sometimes called yam.
YAM, Dioscorfea spp.
Asia Food. 2008March5Accessed. http://www.asiafood.org/
n a botanical sense, yams are only those which belong to the Dioscorea species, but in general, and especially when shopping in native markets, all kinds of starchy tubers, root crops and even sweet potatoes are referred to as yams. The difference becomes important only when preparing these tubers for cooking. The sweet potato may be scrubbed and cooked in its skin, and the skin may be eaten. The skin of the taro, however, is never eaten as irritating crystals of calcium oxalate present in taro are concentrated under the skin and deep peeling is recommended.
These carbohydrate foods are important staples in some countries. While to the uninitiated they may seem insipid and lack appeal, to those who have been brought up on them, they are very important indeed. The people of the Hawaiian islands, for instance, relish poi, the sticky grey substance made from cooked, mashed and fermented taro roots, but the rest of the world cannot understand why. In the Pacific, it would be a rare meal which did not include taro boiled, baked or steamed.
Yams come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The cush-cush yam (D. trifida) has sweet, smooth flesh that ranges from white to rich purple. Most varieties are tropical, and they grow as a vine, the stems having a climbing habit. Purple yam is known as ube or ubi in the Philippines, and often made into jam or cakes. The great yam (or asiatic yam) can grow to an enormous size, as much as 45 kg (90 lb). However, it is those of a more moderate size which are preferred for eating.
While yams may not have much flavour in themselves, they are cooked with great ingenuity to make both savoury and sweet dishes. Yams may be used in curries the same way as potatoes. Yams and sweet potatoes also appear in a sweet dish called guinatan in the Philippines but known mainly by its Malay name of bubor cha cha which may sound like a Latin American dance step but is a combination of diced boiled yams in sweetened, freshly extracted coconut milk.
The foreign names below are first for greater yam (D. alata) and second for lesser yam (D. esculenta).

Other Languages:
China: taai-shue, siu-chue-shue
India: kham, sinna-valli-kelangut
Indonesia: ubi-kemali, ubi-arumanis
Japan: oo-yama-imo, ama-yama-imo
Malaysia: ubi-kemali, ubi-torak
New Zealand: uwhi, uwhikaho
Philippines: ubi, tugi, buga
Sri Lanka: raja-ala, java-ala
Thailand: man-sao, man-chuak
Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.
YAM, DIOSCOREA OPPOSITA, D. JAPONICA, D. ESCULENTA, SHAN YAO (China), KO-IMO, SATO IMO (field yam); ARBI, GHUIYAN (India, Nepal); ARVI, BANDA, COLCASIA (Indonesia); YAMA NO IMO, MOUNTAIN YAM (Japan), KELADI (MALAYSIA), UBE, UB I (Philippines), SWEET POTATO, TARO, YAM BEAN
Yam is the common name of the cultivated species of the genus Dioscorea, which has been a staple food since prehistoric times. The edible root of a fast-growing climbing plant, it ranges in shape and size from small and round to extremely large, elongated and irregular. The flesh ranges through gray-white, yellow, gold and orange-red to purple. The vegetable has a high starch content and a bland flavor. The texture is floury and slightly dry. Yams must be thickly peeled, to remove the bitter sap that is located immediately beneath the skin. Yam is used as a vegetable, mainly to add substance to a dish, and may be boiled, braised, simmered or steamed. In Japan it is battered and deep-fried as a tempura vegetable. Diced yam is a common ingredient in coconut milk desserts in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Taro, which is drier, and sweet potato, which has a softer, sweeter flesh, can be substituted. Yam bean, or jicama known commonly in southeast Asia as bangkwang, is a quite different vegetab le with a sweet, crisp flesh.
YAM (YUM)
Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.
is any salad dish; they may comprise vegetables, or shredded meats, vegetables and fruit. [Thailand Cooking Methods]
Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.
YAM, SHAN YAO, KO-IMO, SATO IMO(field yam); ARBI, GHUIYAN; ARVI, BANDA, COLCASIA; YAMA NO IMO, MOUNTAIN YAM, KELADI, UBE, UB I, YAM BEAN, YUM
Tubers of perennial climbing plants of a number of species of Dioscorea; D. rotundata, white yam, and D. cayenensis, yellow or Guinea yam, water, trifoliate or Chinese yam; a major food in parts of Africa and also the Far East. Analysis per 100 g: 73 g water, 30 g starch, 2 g protein, 130 kcal (560 kJ), small amounts of B vitamins, 10 mg vitamin C. In the United States sweet potatoes are sometimes called yam.
YAM, Dioscorfea spp.
Asia Food. 2008March5Accessed. http://www.asiafood.org/
n a botanical sense, yams are only those which belong to the Dioscorea species, but in general, and especially when shopping in native markets, all kinds of starchy tubers, root crops and even sweet potatoes are referred to as yams. The difference becomes important only when preparing these tubers for cooking. The sweet potato may be scrubbed and cooked in its skin, and the skin may be eaten. The skin of the taro, however, is never eaten as irritating crystals of calcium oxalate present in taro are concentrated under the skin and deep peeling is recommended.
These carbohydrate foods are important staples in some countries. While to the uninitiated they may seem insipid and lack appeal, to those who have been brought up on them, they are very important indeed. The people of the Hawaiian islands, for instance, relish poi, the sticky grey substance made from cooked, mashed and fermented taro roots, but the rest of the world cannot understand why. In the Pacific, it would be a rare meal which did not include taro boiled, baked or steamed.
Yams come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The cush-cush yam (D. trifida) has sweet, smooth flesh that ranges from white to rich purple. Most varieties are tropical, and they grow as a vine, the stems having a climbing habit. Purple yam is known as ube or ubi in the Philippines, and often made into jam or cakes. The great yam (or asiatic yam) can grow to an enormous size, as much as 45 kg (90 lb). However, it is those of a more moderate size which are preferred for eating.
While yams may not have much flavour in themselves, they are cooked with great ingenuity to make both savoury and sweet dishes. Yams may be used in curries the same way as potatoes. Yams and sweet potatoes also appear in a sweet dish called guinatan in the Philippines but known mainly by its Malay name of bubor cha cha which may sound like a Latin American dance step but is a combination of diced boiled yams in sweetened, freshly extracted coconut milk.
The foreign names below are first for greater yam (D. alata) and second for lesser yam (D. esculenta).

Other Languages:
China: taai-shue, siu-chue-shue
India: kham, sinna-valli-kelangut
Indonesia: ubi-kemali, ubi-arumanis
Japan: oo-yama-imo, ama-yama-imo
Malaysia: ubi-kemali, ubi-torak
New Zealand: uwhi, uwhikaho
Philippines: ubi, tugi, buga
Sri Lanka: raja-ala, java-ala
Thailand: man-sao, man-chuak
Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.
YAM, DIOSCOREA OPPOSITA, D. JAPONICA, D. ESCULENTA, SHAN YAO (China), KO-IMO, SATO IMO (field yam); ARBI, GHUIYAN (India, Nepal); ARVI, BANDA, COLCASIA (Indonesia); YAMA NO IMO, MOUNTAIN YAM (Japan), KELADI (MALAYSIA), UBE, UB I (Philippines), SWEET POTATO, TARO, YAM BEAN
Yam is the common name of the cultivated species of the genus Dioscorea, which has been a staple food since prehistoric times. The edible root of a fast-growing climbing plant, it ranges in shape and size from small and round to extremely large, elongated and irregular. The flesh ranges through gray-white, yellow, gold and orange-red to purple. The vegetable has a high starch content and a bland flavor. The texture is floury and slightly dry. Yams must be thickly peeled, to remove the bitter sap that is located immediately beneath the skin. Yam is used as a vegetable, mainly to add substance to a dish, and may be boiled, braised, simmered or steamed. In Japan it is battered and deep-fried as a tempura vegetable. Diced yam is a common ingredient in coconut milk desserts in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Taro, which is drier, and sweet potato, which has a softer, sweeter flesh, can be substituted. Yam bean, or jicama known commonly in southeast Asia as bangkwang, is a quite different vegetab le with a sweet, crisp flesh.
YAM (YUM)
Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.
is any salad dish; they may comprise vegetables, or shredded meats, vegetables and fruit. [Thailand Cooking Methods]


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