# yams **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208 "2011-09-22T16:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ASB01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@ASB01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASB01)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/1 "2011-09-22T16:07:39Z")
is a yam a potato or a grain? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/2 "2011-09-22T16:10:19Z")
A yam is a root, so it’s clearly not a grain. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/3 "2011-09-22T16:20:45Z")
Like a potato, a yam is a tuber. At least it was when I was in grade school… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/4 "2011-09-22T16:24:04Z")
A tuber? I thought it was more like an ocarina. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/5 "2011-09-22T16:28:56Z")
What is generally called a yam in US supermarkets isn’t actually a yam. It’s a variety of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). It’s not very closely related to the potato. The [true yam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yam_%28vegetable%29) isn’t very closely related to the potato either. All of the above are tubers. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/6 "2011-09-22T16:29:40Z")
OK, trying to answer the OP: True yams in my neck of the woods are sold under the name _ñame_. They’re a member of the lily family. Sweet potatoes are sometimes referred to as “yams,” but mostly in the context of “candied yams.” They’re a member of the morning glory family. And neither are grains. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/7 "2011-09-22T16:48:24Z")
But, if you’re asking where a yam would fit under the classic “four food groups” model, it’s not meat and it’s not dairy. So is it a fruit/vegetable, or a “bread and grains”? It could be either, but since it’s mostly starch and sugar, it would fit into the “cereals” category. But so would all sorts of other vegetables that are mostly starch, like potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/8 "2011-09-22T18:25:09Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/9 "2011-09-22T23:37:32Z")
Call it bread or starch rather than grain. And sweet potato/yam is better for you than white potato. It has a much lower glycemic index, and doesn’t jack your blood sugar up as high or as fast. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/10 "2011-09-23T11:31:41Z")
[Popeye]I yam what I yam.[/Popeye] ---
**Author:** ![Teufelblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@Teufelblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teufelblitz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/11 "2011-09-23T12:46:33Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Like a potato, a yam is a tuber. At least it was when I was in grade school… [ahnold] It’s not a tubah![/ahnold] ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yams/597208/12 "2011-09-23T13:30:47Z")
The subject line doesn’t look right without a couple of exclamation points after it. I’ve been here for four years, lurked a bit before that, and I still think **yams!!** is my favorite username on here, and I even love the sig of “love, yams!!”