Sweet potato vs. yam: what's the difference?

For hundreds of years, sweet potatoes across the United States have been masquerading as "yams." The truth is most Americans have probably never eaten a real yam.

The reason “yams” and sweet potatoes taste the same to Americans is because they are the same. What producers and grocery stores in the US have been calling “yams” are actually sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas).

This confusion isn’t new. In a 1896 book, a professor of horticulture at Texas A&M urged Americans to stop using the word “yam” to label sweet potato varieties:

Real yams (of the genus Diascorea) are not grown commercially in the United States. You probably have to visit an international grocery store to find them.

Check out the video above to see what a real yam looks like and learn how its name became attached to an entirely different vegetable. You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via