Is it a yam or a sweet potato?

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a yam and a sweet potato?
The answer is - a lot! In fact, they aren't even related. The sweet potato is in the Morning glory family and the yam is in, well, the yam family.

You can recognize a sweet potato by it's smooth, thin skin and tapered ends. Yams are rough, scaly and some have "toes". In taste, the sweet potato is more moist and sweet while the yam is dry and starchy. The sweet potato is known for being very high in beta carotene (Vitamin A, that's what makes it orange) while the yam is not. This makes the sweet potato the clear favorite in my mind!

Sweet potatoes originated in Peru and Ecuador but are now grown in the US. Yams came from West Africa and Asia and are now imported from the Caribbean.

So, can you tell if this is a yam or a sweet potato?