Saturday, October 10, 2009

Yam - Dioscorea alata

Yam is cultivated for their edible underground tuber; and is a popular food item in tropics. Yam tubers are boiled, peeled and then mashed for eating. It can be also prepared like potato chips or french fries. It tastes sweet with starchy.

Yam is native to Southeast Asia. The plant grows for 8 to 10 months, and goes dormant about 3 to 4 months.

The flesh of yam tubers varies colors between white to yellow, and filled up with 15% to 40% starch, with little or no protein. Yam tuber contains more natural sugar than even sweet potatoes and are rich in moisture content.

Yam is termed as kachil kizhangu in tamil language.