11/21/2009 – Close your eyes and imagine your family's Thanksgiving table. I put good money on it that it includes Louisiana sweet potatoes. Dark orange and full of beta-carotene, we call them yams (from the West African word "djambi" meaning "to eat"). However, they're not really yams. Yams are long, tree-like tubers from Latin America with waxy bark-like skins. Needless to say, I doubt we'll stop calling them yams anytime soon. This time of year, they're great, they're everywhere and we're seeing more white sweet potatoes than ever before. It is somewhat flaky in texture and lower in sugar content. Consider serving white yams this Thanksgiving for your Aunt Esther who's suffering from Type 2 diabetes. For pictures of long tubers or a long list of farmers markets in the Greater New Orleans region, log onto WWNO.org.
Farmers Market Minute: Yamboree
