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Sweet Potatoes (Yams) With Cranberry-Peach Topping

A yam is a yam is a yam? Guess again

When is a yam not a yam? When it is really a sweet potato.

What are sold in American supermarkets as yams, with reddish skin and orange flesh, are really a form of sweet potato. The U.S. Department of Agriculture identifies them as “sweet potato yams.”

What are sold as sweet potatoes, with light brown skin and yellow flesh, also really are a type of sweet potatoes.

A true yam, which has black or dark brown skin and white-gray flesh, rarely is available in the United States.

We can blame Spanish and Portuguese explorers for all of the confusion. The two root vegetables do have similar outward appearances and a similar flavor. The Spanish often referred to them as the same plant. They are, however, two distinctly different plants.

The sweet potato originated in the Andes and eventually was cultivated throughout Latin America. Columbus was introduced to sweet potatoes on his first visit to the New World.

The true yam originates from Africa. Slave trading resulted in the transfer of the two vegetables between continents. Africans brought yams with them to the New World. Portuguese slave traders took sweet potatoes back to Africa to be used as food in slave holding camps. The slaves then transported both yams and sweet potatoes back to the New World.

The popularity of sweet potatoes in the United States is partly due to the research of George Washington Carver, a scientist who is best known for his work with peanuts. Carver hybridized plants for greater production, improved farming methods and developed multiple uses for peanuts. He did the same thing with sweet potatoes.

I generally prefer using what we call a yam (the sweet potato with the reddish skin) because the bright orange flesh has a more appealing color when cooked. You can use whichever you like in this recipe; both are delicious.

Sweet Potatoes (Yams) With Cranberry-Peach Topping

Makes 8 servings

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes (yams), washed, trimmed and cut in 2-inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

CRANBERRY PEACH TOPPING

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 2/3 cup peach preserves
• 1/4 cup minced candied ginger
• Sugar, to taste
• 2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur

Tightly wrap each sweet potato in foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until they are soft to the touch. When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove them from the foil and pull away the peel. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher. Add in the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cayenne, and mix well. The dish can be prepared to this point a day ahead and refrigerated.

In a saucepan, stir together cranberries, preserves and candied ginger. Cook until the cranberries pop and the mixture has thickened. If necessary, add a little water while cooking. Add sugar if necessary to sweeten. Stir in orange liqueur.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Evenly spread the sweet potato mixture into the dish. Spread the Cranberry-Peach Topping over the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes.

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