Real yams are native to Africa and Asia, and they’re a staple food over there. They can grow to be enormous—like, “that’s not a sweet potato, that’s a log” enormous. Some varieties reach over 100 pounds. That’s not a side dish; that’s a weapon. Their skin is rough, bark-like, and comes in shades of brown or black, while their flesh is white, purple, or reddish.
When you cook a real yam, it’s dry and starchy, almost like a russet potato but less fluffy. You wouldn’t drizzle maple syrup on it unless you wanted to confuse your taste buds. They’re more at home in savory stews or pounded into fufu, not candied into a sticky holiday mess.
