I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam!

I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam! Sweet potatoes and yams are very different animals. Yams are tropical tubers known to grow seven feet long with flanges like toes whose skins are like a slick, thin blackish brown bark and the flesh ranges in color from off white to crimson to burgundy. Grown in South America, Africa and the Caribbean, the meat is fairly dry, starchy and not as sweet as the sweet potato we grow in the U.S. (see Boniata or ñame – yam?).
The sweet potato got its name from shrewd marketers. Columbus was given the root of a morning glory variant by Taino tribesman on St. Thomas, who called it batata which begat patata and potato. Early American colonists cultivated the sweet potato as a staple and animal fodder – premium Virginia hogs are fed sweet taters and goobers to yield prize-winning hogs. White potatoes, tubers of the nightshade family, first in arrived in Europe with the conquistadors, then came to the colonies in the 17th century and began to overtake the orange fleshed root in popularity; it is now the world’s 4th largest food crop. In order to differentiate the two, and increase consumption, the moniker “sweet potato” was born. The yam name came from the African nyami, which was similar to a root consumed by slaves in their homelands.
Cogito ergo spud “I think, therefore I yam” Herb Caen

Is this my artichoke or yours?

Artichokes are one of the world’s monstrosities, according to Pliny, which must in part contribute to its favor as something enjoyed by the decadently wealthy throughout history. Charlemagne ordered them to be planted in his realm; Catherine di Medici re-introduced them to the court table. The globe artichoke, which is now the most commonly eaten variety, is a member of the family known as thistles; those spiky stalked asters are also kin to the sunflower (French girasole) one of whose number gives us the root tuber known as the Jerusalem Artichoke. The globe is generally consumed before the spiny purple flower blooms, the leaves and the hearts being the preferred parts. Usually steamed or blanched, the leaves are often dipped in sauces and the tender insides and bottoms are eaten. The delicate hearts can be eaten many ways: in dips, with pasta, pickled, in salads or any way your heart desires. Low in fat and calories, high in fiber, they are also full of minerals and compounds that remove toxins from the blood to improve the health of many vital organs.
“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.” Margo Channing