Y is for Yams

Welcome to day 25 of the Blogging A-Z April Challenge, 2013!  Each day in April (except Sundays) I will be posting here, and the posts will be in alphabetical order!  This blog is all about my journey to weight loss / good health & fitness.

For some shameless self-promotion, I have 2 other blogs in the challenge, too.
 Check them out!
Maple Grove Cemetery - Halloween related, but don't worry - no gore.
Random Ramblings - lives up to its name. Totally random.

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Yams are actually not the same as sweet potato, as I just learned!

The true yam is a versatile vegetable. It can be barbecued, roasted, fried, grilled, boiled, baked, smoked and when grated it is processed into a dessert recipe.

Yams are a primary agricultural and culturally important commodity in West Africa, where over 95 percent of the world's yam crop is harvested. Yams are still important for survival in these regions. Some varieties of these tubers can be stored up to six months without refrigeration, which makes them a valuable resource for the yearly period of food scarcity at the beginning of the wet season. Yam cultivars are also cropped in other humid tropical countries.

Yam tubers can grow up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length and weigh up to 70 kilograms (154 lb) and 3 to 6 inches high. The vegetable has a rough skin which is difficult to peel, but which softens after heating. The skins vary in color from dark brown to light pink. The majority of the vegetable is composed of a much softer substance known as the "meat". This substance ranges in color from white or yellow to purple or pink in mature yams.

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