Sweet
potatoes are common and popular here in Australia, yams are generally only to
be found in specialist greengrocers. In some parts of the USA, I understand
that sweet potatoes of the yellow/orange colour are popularly referred to as ‘yams,’
– it is said because African-American slaves of the colonial period found them
to have many similarities with the real yams with which they were familiar.
Sometimes, if there is no additional commentary, it can be difficult to
determine which is intended in a particular recipe.
Botanically
speaking, the yam is the common name of some plants from the family Dioscoreaceae, is native to Africa and
Asia, and the sweet potato belongs to the family Convolvulaceae, and is native to the Americas.
The
Australian newspaper, the Morning
Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld.) of October 4, 1886, in a column entitled A Course of Cookery, by a Mother has
this to say about the vegetables:
SWEET POTATO. - One of
the most popular vegetables in this country is the sweet potatoe. It can be
baked, boiled, or even stewed as a fruit. To boil them use no salt, as it gives
them a dark tinge. They are very good mashed with chopped eschalot and parsley;
boiled plain with melted butter; or baked with meat. For tarts they can be boiled,
mashed, and flavoured with lemon juice, lemon peel, and sugar, turned into a pie
dish, and covered with short crust; also treated with sugar, nutmeg, lemon, and
sweet spice, the same as pumpkin pie, they are very good.
THE YAM. -It is a great
pity the yam is not more generally cultivated in the colonies. It grows well,
and with very little trouble, and is far before many other vegetables in the matter
of nutriment. In the South Sea Islands the natives live on yam from their
infancy.
The best and pleasantest
way to cook them is to bake them in the ashes. Lay them in the dull, red ashes, turning
them occasionally till done, then scrape off the outside, break open the yam, and eat with a spoon and
some fresh butter and salt. They are delicious for supper on a cold night.
Boiling them quite spoils their flavour. The English potato, done in the same way,
is far nicer than boiled.
Half
a century later, another Australian newspaper, the Newcastle
Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW) of 13 July 1937, appeared to refer to sweet
potatoes as yams. Or am I the one who is confused and is interpreting the
article incorrectly. The article was in the Women’s Realm section, and was on
cooking with yams and pumpkins. The author opines that “Natives
of the South Sea Island and the Australian aborigines still cook yams in this
fashion [roasting in their skins].” The South Sea Islands reference suggests
sweet potatoes, does it not? For your decision and delectation, here are
several of the ‘yam’ recipes from the article.
Yam Custard.
Sufficient
boiled yams to make two cupfuls pulp, 2 eggs, 1 cupful milk, 1 tablespoonful
flour, 1 teaspoonful salt, ¼ teaspoonful cinnamon.
Beat
the yam pulp and rub through a coarse sieve. Beat the eggs with the flour and
then add the salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the yam pulp and finally the milk a
little at a time. Pour into a buttered pie-dish and bake in a moderate oven for
30 minutes or until set. Cover with a thin layer of crushed peanuts and top
with marshmallows cut in halves. Place in the oven and brown lightly. Serve hot
or cold.
Baked Stuffed
Yams.
Six
medium-sized yams, 6 small white onions, milk and butter.
Peel
and part-boil the yams in boiling salted water. Remove from the saucepan and
dry them. Then from the centre of each cut a small round piece as large as the
onion, and lay it aside. Put the onion in each potato with a teaspoonful of
milk and butter. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper and bake for 30 minutes
or longer in a hot oven.
Creamed Yams.
Six
medium-sized yams, 1 oz butter, salt and pepper, one gill cream.
Prepare
and peel the yams. Boil until tender in salted water. Drain and mash with the
butter and seasonings. Mix in the cream and pour into individual fire-proof
dishes. Brown in a hot oven and serve with grilled cutlets.
Baked Spiced Yams.
Four
medium-sized yams, eight cloves, four pieces of garlic, melted dripping,
parsley sauce.
Peel
the yams and boil until half tender in salted water. Drain and coat with melted
butter. Stick two cloves in each yam and a piece of garlic on a small skewer.
Bake until tender in good beef dripping. Remove the cloves and garlic and dish
on a hot dis. Coat with parsley sauce and serve with veal cutlets.
Yam Puffs.
One
cupful mashed yams, half cupful flour, two eggs, half teaspoonful salt, one
teaspoonful baking powder.
Beat
the eggs well. Then mix in the cooked yams and beat for five minutes. Add the
flour, salt, and baking powder. Fry in tablespoonfuls in faintly-smoking fat.
Serve with grilled bacon.
