YAM | TRUE YAM | AFRICAN YAM

African yam is an old prestigious staple food that we don’t hesitate to serve guests. It is an important dietary element for the African people. 

Yams are not sweet Potatoes – Let’s clear this once and for all

I know a lot of people confuse yams and sweet potatoes. True yams are not sweet potatoes. They are two different root crops, and they are not related at all. I grew up in Nigeria eating true yam, and I think I can share some of my knowledge with you. Let’s go!

Most people in the tropics are familiar with both true yam and sweet potatoes because they eat both but if you are in doubt or just want to learn a bit more about the true yam, then, this is for you.

Let’s talk about the True Yam

The African yam is rich and highly nutritional. It is a cash crop that is available in some areas of Africa all year-round. unlike some other crops that are seasonal.

Depending on location, it is also popularly referred to as Ghana yam, Nigerian yam, African yam, true yam, white yam, or puna yam. 

Important note: I will be using these names interchangeably in this article, considering that they refer to the same yam.

Another beautiful thing about the African yam is its diverse uses, great beneficial health benefits, high availability rate, and how it can complement different sauces. 

To balance African yam’s protein deficiency, it is usually complemented with protein-rich meals like egg sauce or fish sauce.

What is True Yam?

Yams are mostly tropical species. They are big-looking roots, with rough wrinkly, dark, and sometimes hairy skin and white to slightly yellow or cream-colored starchy flesh, and they can grow so big. Really enormous!

It belongs to the group Dioscorea, which has about 600 species. Out of these 600 species, about 60 (some say 150) are edible, and about 10 are major food crops. 

The family of the true yam I’m talking about today is classified botanically as Dioscorea rotundata. It is grown in a specific fertile land region in some parts of the world like Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.

Like potatoes, African yams can be fried, mashed, boiled, pounded, and much more.

Differences between sweet potatoes and True Yams

• Like I said earlier, yams are entirely different from Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes sprawl in the ground while yams are big climbing vines.
• True yams have a mild earthy taste and are more starchy, while sweet potatoes are sweet.
• True yams are way bigger than sweet potatoes.
• Yams have thicker skin, almost like cassava (Yuca).

Flavor Profile | Texture of African Yam

True Yams taste almost like potatoes, but they have a bit more texture to them.

Size of Puna Yam

They have different size ranges, from the size of a small potato to a bigger size up to hundreds of pounds, and they can be over one meter in length. The yam tubers are thick, of more length than width, and have a cylinder shape.

Color of Ghana Yam ( Nigerian Yam)

The skin color is brown, and the outer part is rough, tough, scaly, and difficult to peel, but it is softened with heating. Inside of the thick layer is the edible part which is white to cream-colored. It’s dry and starchy. When cooked, it has a subtle sweetness with a mild, earthy flavor.

Temperature to store the African Yam

Yams should be stored in a cool, dry place (free from heat and moisture). The best temperature with which to store African yams is between 14°C and 16°C. Any temperature below 12°C causes damage to the yam and leaving it susceptible to decay.

Yams are perishable however, they are not meant to be stored in the refrigerator. It may lead to chilling damage and when returned back to normal temperature, it will break down rapidly causing the tuber to smell. The maximum storage life of D. rotundata tubers is about 4 months in a cool and dry place.

Nutritional Composition of African Yam

African yam is rich in Carbohydrates, vitamins A, B6, and C, Thiamine, fiber, potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and copper.

Where to buy True Yam

African Yams are not readily available in local grocery stores but you can easily get them online and in the African/Caribbean markets.

I’m leery of how fresh the online yams are so I prefer to buy them at my local African store. However, I believe there are some trusted vendors that sell good yams. Be sure to read reviews and do your research before buying online.

Yam Recipes | Ways Yam Can Be Used

The African yam can be prepared, used, and eaten in different ways or styles. Here are some of them;

1.  Boiled Yam: It can be sliced and boiled served with a sauce or gravy. 
2. Roasted Yam: It can be roasted on an open fire or on the bbq grill.
3. Yam fritters: The starchy tubers can be made into fritters. Can also be mashed, formed into cakes and fried. 
4. Pounded Yam: It can be pounded with a traditional mortar and pestle, after properly boiled, into a thick starchy paste widely known as the traditional pounded yam, locally called ‘Iyan’ or Fufu. It is eaten with traditional sauces and soups according to the eater’s preferences. Note: fufu can also be made from other starchy foods, such as cassava, plantains, and cocoyams. 
5. Amala (swallow food): It can also be consumed by leaving the pieces of yam out to dry, or sun/heat dried and then milled to become a brown powdered flour ‘Elubo’ as known in Nigeria but commonly known as Yam flour. It is used to prepare a thick starchy paste known as Amala which can be eaten with different local sauces and soups.
6. Yam chips, fries and Wedges: Yams can be cut into wedges, stips, or thinly sliced, seasonings are added, then fried to be made into yam fries or cooked in the style of potato chips or french fries.
7. Yam porridge: Sauced, seasoned and mashed yam. So delicious!
8. Other ways it can be prepared include; Yam hash, Cheesy yam gratin, added into baked goods, etc.

Health Benefits of True Yam

African yam can benefit your health in a lot of ways. A few of the benefits are stated below;

1. It contains a lot of nutritional composition, e.g. carbohydrates, calories, protein, carbs, vitamins, Magnesium, Manganese, potassium, thiamine, copper, etc. This helps support growth, body metabolism, the heart’s functioning, efficient red blood cell production, boosting the immune system, bones’ health, etc.
2. Enhances the functioning of the brain. Yam contains a unique compound, diosgenin which enhances brain function and improves learning abilities.
3. It helps reduce inflammation due to its antioxidants properties.
4. It helps improve blood sugar control due to its dietary fiber contents and resistant starch, which helps increase the digestive enzymes that break down food.

These are claims. Please do your own research to be sure of these benefits 🙂

Advantages and disadvantages of African Yam

1. It has a long storage life/shelf-life.
2. It can be used in a wide variety of cooking applications.
3.  It is easy to cook.
4. Can be used in soups or stews for a starchy addition or mashed and added as a thickener. 
5.  It has a high nutrient composition.
6. It must be properly peeled and cooked before consumption. Raw yam is toxic and can cause illness if not well cooked and peeled. 
7.  If not properly stored, it can decay. It’s a perishable product.
8. The skin can feel itchy when it gets in contact with the skin especially new yam (first harvest). You can apply palmoil to the spot to relief the itchyness.
9. 100 grams of yam gives about 118 calories so it is recommended that yam should be consumed moderately as it is very high in calories.

I hope you enjoyed knowing more about the true yam. I’m social and you can connect with me on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.  I love keeping in touch with you, and nothing brings me more joy than seeing pictures of your creations.