Yam, white yam,ñame blanco, igname, Dioscorea alata, Dioscoreaceae,

Yam, White Yam?
Yam, white yam
ñame blanco (Spanish), igname (French)
(Dioscorea alata -- Family Dioscoreaceae)
The term "yam" is used to include many tubers, counting the sweet potato, which is
no relation. The sweet potato is not a true
yam. In the 1930s, promoters of southern
US-grown sweet potatoes use the word
"yam" for a movement to set apart their
Louisiana product from the drier, paler sweet
potato.True yams generally grow only in the
Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Mexico, but not
in the US.

An interesting story emerges as to how it got its name. While Portuguese slave
traders were watching Africans dig up the roots, they asked what they were called.
Failing to understand the question fully, they replied that it was "something to eat",
nyami in Guinea. This became inhame in Portuguese, then igname in French, ñame
blanco in Spanish, and finally yam in English. The botanical family name comes by
way of Dioscorides, the 1st century Greek botanist and physician, who used them
medicinally, as well as for food. It is also the foundational name of its most important genus, Dioscorea, which comprises 600 or more species, and found widespread
throughout the tropics. The yam is a staple for the 700 or more different
ethnolinguitic groups of southeast Asia and surrounding islands.


(Serving: 0.5 cup) Calories 81 Saturated Fat 0.0g Carbohydrate 19g Sodium 11mg Fiber 3g 1 Starch Calories from Fat: 1 Total Fat: 0.1g 0% Saturated Fat: 0.0g 0% Trans Fat: 0.0g Poly Fat: 0.0g Mono Fat: 0.0g Cholesterol: 0mg 0% Sodium: 11mg 0% Total Carbohydrate: 19g 6%		Dietary Fiber: 3g 11% Sugars: 0g Sugar Alcohol: 0g Protein: 1g Potassium: 460mg 13% Phosphorus: 30mg 3% Vitamins Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 14% Calcium 1% Iron 2% Magnesium 3% Folate 3% Potassium 13% Vitamin B12 0% Phosphorus 3%