hours, then simply drain the potatoes and roast at your
leisure. Your mouth will thank you, as will your family.

I YAM WHAT I YAM

So, as all of you highly educated eaters probably

already  know,   the     thing   that    we  call    a   yam     in  the

United  States  is  not a   yam.    A   true    yam is  a   gigantic

starchy,     sticky  root    from    a   large   grass-like  plant

native  to  Africa. These   days,   yams    are mostly  found

in   Africa,     South   America,    and     the     Pacific     Islands.

Very    rarely  do  they    make    their   way here.

The things  we  call    yams    are in  fact    a   type    of  sweet

potato,  a   different   plant   entirely.   Sweet   potatoes

come     in  a   few     different   varieties,  but     they    can

basically    be  broken  down    into    two     groups,     which

behave  differently when    cooked.

• Dry sweet potatoes, like white-fleshed American
  sweet potatoes or Okinawan purple potatoes,
  are less sweet and starchier than moist sweet
  potatoes. They turn fluffy when cooked, and in
  many recipes can be a good substitute for
  regular potatoes (albeit with a flavor all their
  own).