The orange-fleshed variety was introduced to the United States several decades ago. And unlike the orange, beta carotene rich interior we love, the yamвЂ™s interior is white and very low in beta carotene.Дepending on the variety, sweet potato flesh can vary from white to orange and even purple. Unlike sweet potatoes smooth skin, the yamвЂ™s exterior is rough and scaly. Referencing the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, a true yam is a starchy edible root of the Dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to America from the Caribbean. Yams are a completely different plant that has an edible tuber that looks, at best, vaguely like a sweet potato.

Now some folks will say, вЂњOh I love yams!вЂќ But I wonder if youвЂ™ve ever have eaten a true yam. Texas typically is the 5th largest producer. The state of North Carolina leads the nation in sweet potato production, harvesting 60% of our annual, national harvest. My first job as an Extension Agent was in Canton, Texas (Van Zandt County) and there were a good many commercial sweet potato growers located there. Just a bit to the north of us is a great deal of commercial sweet potato production. Sweet potatoes are a nutritionally dense, summer annual root vegetable that we can grow quite well here in east Texas. I realize that dish completely negates any nutritional benefit from them, but thatвЂ™s just what I knew about this tuber until I was an adult.

My mom still serves up this wonderfully healthy root vegetable during the holidays, then drizzles them in brown sugar and covered with marshmallows before baking! Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. Much like some other foods this time of year, I bet youвЂ™ll see more sweet potatoes in dishes in these upcoming holidays.

One that we grow here that I look forward to as well is sweet potatoes. ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - Some foods such as cranberries, pumpkins, stuffing, and turkey make a strong appearance during these upcoming holidays.

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