Product Description

Yams belong to the family Dioscoreaceae with about **0 species. The most important genus is Dioscorea comprising about **0 species. Of these, only seven are principal food sources for human diet in the tropics. Yams are most commonly cooked by boiling, frying, and roasting. Preparing boiled yam involves dividing the tuber into round pieces, then peeling the skin around each cut piece, and boiling the whitish starchy flesh. The older the yam, the smaller the chunks that must be cut and the more water needed for boiling. Boiled yam is usually consumed with any preferred relish. The boiled yam can also be pounded with a pestle in a mortar to create a thick starchy paste known as pounded yam that is eaten with any sauce. Another method of consumption is to sun-dry the raw yam pieces and then pound them to make flour, which is prepared with boiling water to create a thick, brown, starchy paste eaten with local soups and sauces. In big cities, fried yam is becoming a popular street food and has a similar position as French fries elsewhere. Yam balls (the yam version of meatballs or donuts) are also gaining some popularity in contemporary African cuisine.