Author: Colorado Potatoes

Do you know the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

The main difference is in the seed leaves: yam plants only have one embryonic seed leaf (termed a “monocot” in botany), and sweet potatoes have two (called a “dicot).

Yams taste a bit drier than sweet potatoes and are considered to be related, botanically, to the lilies and grasses family. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, hail from the morning glory family.

The meat, or flesh, of the sweet potato varies from white to a dark orange-red color. Sweet potatoes are divided into two categories, either firm or soft, and they retain that quality of texture even after cooking.

Here is a scrumptious recipe for mouth-wateringly sweet sweet potatoes :

WORLD’S SWEETEST SWEET POTATOES

Peel and grate two pounds of sweet potatoes, then combine in a crock pot with 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 stick melted butter or margarine, ¼ cup broken pecans (toasted is best!), ¼ cup flaked coconut, ¼ teaspoon each of cinnamon, coconut extract and vanilla extract.

Cover and cook at low for about seven hours. Stir the coconut extract and vanilla extract in just before serving.

If you prefer spicy to sweet, try cooking your sweet potatoes this way:

SPICY SWEET POTATOES
Serves 8.

Cook 4 cups peeled sweet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes) for 30 minutes in a pan, or until tender. Peel, then mash by hand or using a mixer, putting in 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of milk, evaporated milk or cream. Spread half the sweet potatoes in the bottom of a large buttered casserole dish. Spread 1 cup mincemeat over that, then cap it with a the rest of the sweet potatoes and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.