Of course, many traditional recipes use whole ube yam rather than an ube product. In some regions, people consume their young shoots like asparagus, previously boiled (discard the water). Chinese cooks also follow a culinary tradition of slicing this delicately flavored yam into thin slices and pickling it for storage. White potatoes and white yams do possess some nutritional advantages. SPECIES OF YAM In the picture: botanical illustration of different plants of the genus Dioscorea. Both are large, weighing about 4 to 6 pounds. – Yam (Dioscorea floribunda): species cultivated for pharmaceutical purposes for obtaining diosgenin (6-8%). Because air potatoes are better appreciated from a culinary standpoint in Asia, many of the better-known recipes featuring them hail from the East. Types of Sweet Potatoes. Incidentally, yams and sweet potatoes are different. Air potatoes (D. bulbifera) are true yams that are cultivated in the U.S. and other parts of the world. White-fleshed tubers. Their descriptions do not replace professional advice. Too many images selected. Gingger and yam can be planted around house compound and are among Yams and potatoes are stacked beautifully next to each other. Botanical-online is not responsible for self-medication and recommends consulting with the physician. In English it is called Chinese Yam, and Shan Yao is his name in traditional Chinese medicine. All the varieties described below are technically sweet potatoes, though they’re often called yams. The Okinawan yam is equally at home in savory dishes as well as sweet ones. Click here to request Getty Images Premium Access through IBM Creative Design Services. It can be baked, roasted or added to stews and casseroles. Cook's Thesaurus: Sweet Potatoes and Yams. It's only in specialty markets that you'll likely find true white or even purple yams. Lesser yam's natural sweetness also makes it a natural for Asian versions of sweet potato desserts. Most importantly, when cooked, American yam sweet potatoes have a light, creamy texture. There are over 600 species of yam, of which only 12 (Dioscorea spp.) It is rich in starch and vitamin B1 (10-15%). It is a species rich in diosgenin or steroid saponins, a component that is used in pharmacy to produce oral contraceptives, cortisone or hormones. The oval tubers are on the small side, weighing between a 1/2 to 2 pounds on average. "Regular" sweet potato types, in contrast, are paler inside and out, and they have firmer flesh. As their names suggest, white guinea yam has white flesh, while the skin of a yellow guinea yam is light yellow.