Yams

[Mistercee]

In ASDA this week I saw something which looked like a tree root called a Yam. How do you cook a Yam. Is it sweet or savoury ?

[NixnJay]

Much like a sweet potato and very big in the states. Try this for info..http://www.foodsubs.com/Sweetpotatoes.html

[antiguru]

Sweet and savoury. You can use them like you would an ordinary potato or there are some yummy ideas on this site:

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx? WithTerm=&SiteId=0&Wanted1=yam

[Clanad]

Probably one of the most simple "Yam" dishes is often made at Thanksgiving (11/23 this year) here in the U.S....

Peel and slice 3 or 4 Sweet Potatos or Yams. Slices should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Place in a baking dish large enough for the slices to cover the bottom.
In a sauce pan, melt 1 stick butter with 2 cups brown sugar (the dark variety is best, in my opinion)
Pour mixture over Yams and bake in 350 deg F oven for about 1 hour or until Yams are fork tender. (In New England some people add 1/2 cup of real Maple Syrup at this point. I think it makes the dish overly sweet).
During the last 15 minutes of baking cover with the small Marshmallows. They should be melted and slightly browned by the time the dish is ready for serving.

Good luck!

[Gef]

The American's call them yams but in fact they are sweet potatoes and not true yams.

Google for sweet potatoes or kumara.

They are delicious roasted, boiled, mashed and more nutricious than "ordinary" potatoes.

[BBWCHATT]

Several decades ago, when orange-fleshed sweet potatoes were introduced in the southern United States, producers and shippers desired to distinguish them from the more traditional, white-fleshed types. The African word nyami, referring to the starchy, edible root of the Dioscorea genus of plants, was adopted in its English form, yam. Yams in the U.S. are actually sweet potatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh. Although the terms are generally used interchangeably, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that the label "yam" always be accompanied by "sweetpotato."

[BBWCHATT]

If it really is a yam and not a sweet potato - I found this for you on the internet:

isu (yam - boiled plain)

Depending on the size of the yams you are able to buy, and what you are eating it with, each tuber should feed about 4-6 people.

Yams
Water
Salt
Slice the yams into pieces that are about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in width.
Peel the skins off the yams.
Rinse the yams.
Place the yams in a pot and add enough water to cover it.
Add about 2 teaspoons of salt.
Cook the yams for about 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so to see if the yams are soft enough (a fork should be able to go through with ease).
Drain the yams.
Serve with stew, or eggs, or beans, etc. etc.


fried yam
Non-detailed instructions:
Cut the yam up into small strips.
Put vegetable oil into a pot, until it is at least 2 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high...it should cover the strips completely while cooking. Place on low heat, and allow it to heat up.
Once the oil is hot, place some of the strips into the oil. Allow it to cook and fry the strip, making sure that it cooks to the inside.
Yams usually don't soak up much oil, but if you want, you can place them directly on napkins to soak up some of the extra oil.

[BBWCHATT]

If it really is a sweet potato instead of a yam - let us know and we will give you some recipes for that too!!!

[aurelia]

Swet potatoes a\re called Yams stateside and I have made them to accompany many meat savoury dishes

I put3 or 4 sweet potatoes cut into chunks and placed in a large ovel enamel oven-proof dish and have added oridinary ptatoes cut into chunks and butternut squash peeled and cut intoi chunks. I then drizzle rapeseed oil over and thern balsamic vinegar with a large drizzles all ver and placed in an oven at about 200C or 180c on fan-assisted. sorry only have electric as there's no gas to my area.

I cook them for about 35 minutes and the taste is gorgeous s the sweetness of the sweet potato and the filling you get from butternut squash along with the sweet taste of the balsamic vinegar is to die for.

[BBWCHATT]

If they look like this then they really are a Yam:

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Media?id=lr000094

If they looked like these then they really are Sweet Potatoes:

http://images.google.com/images?q=picture+of+s weet+potato&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title