Southwest Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette a gluten free and vegetarian salad that is amazing. Roasting sweet potatoes brings out a caramelized flavor that pairs well with the other ingredients to make this delicious salad. The Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette brings a citrus zing to the salad balanced with Agave Syrup.

Chipotle Powder and Jalapenos or Hatch Chiles ups the spice level if you want to bump it up. As the recipe is written, it is fairly low on the spice level. The chipotle powder gives a nice subtle spice. I recommend picking up some chipotle powder, it adds a nice smoky spice to many dishes.

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History of the Sweet Potato and its World Travels

The history of sweet potatoes takes you on a voyage around the world. The Sweet Potato plant has origins in Central and South Americas, making its way north into Mexico. Aztecs, Incas and Mayans had grown and consumed sweet potatoes for thousands of years.

But how did the sweet potato make its way to the U.S.? Christopher Columbus brought them back to Spain in 1500 upon returning from his explorations of the Caribbean, Central and South Americas. The sweet potato never really took off as a food staple in Europe. Spain grew them is small crops after introduction.

Explorers Introduce the World to Cuisine

As European explorers continued to travel the world they introduced it to countries along the way. Sweet potatoes were brought along as a food source. They had a longer shelf life than bread or other staples at the time.

In the Americas, sweet potatoes became a necesary food staple. The first documented use of the sweet potato in the colonies was in Virginia around 1700.

Interestingly, there has been genetic studies of the sweet potato plants. Researchers found that plants in Polynesia, Easter Island and parts of Asia had been introduced 500 years before Columbus brought them back to Europe.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean

The theory is that Polynesians had the capability to sail the Pacific Ocean to make it to South America. Thus bringing back the tubers or cuttings of the plants to the South Pacific Islands and even to Asia. (For more on how the sweet potato made its way across the Pacific Ocean and a map that shows how the sweet potato migrated around the Pacific read Michaeleen Doucleff’s article on NPR.org)

Sweet Potato vs Yam – What’s the Difference

I have spent years in the food industry he names of Sweet Potato and Yam have been thrown around interchangeably. Even in our own family, I recently took a poll of what people call the Sweet Potato or Yam.

The poll of our family left us with as many questions as answers. The poll was split on what they should be called. To make it more confusing some labels on canned Sweet Potatoes or Yams may have one or both names. So why are there two colors of Sweet Potatoes at the store and why are we calling them different names? Are they different?

If you look up what a True Yam is, you will find that the Yam we call in the U.S is not a Yam at all. Which begs the question why it this so confusing?

A True Yam is native to Africa, Asia and South America. Their skins are tougher and the meat is fibrous. Preparation of the yam requires more effort than the U.S. varieties. It is necessary that they be boiled or pounded to break up the fibers before cooking. Versus the sweeter thin skinned sweet potatoes in the U.S.

Sweet Potatoes in the U.S.

In the U.S. the sweet potato and the yam are basically of the same plant family. The sweet potato, the tan skin/lighter flesh, was first introduced to the Americas via the new colonies. The reddish skin/orange flesh sweet potato was introduced later.

Or is it a Yam?

When it was introduced farmers wanted to call it something different. They called it a Yam to differentiate it from the tan skin/lighter color flesh counterpart. So to help clear up some confusion, here is a basic rule. In the U.S. you can call a Yam a Sweet Potato but you can’t call a White Sweet Potato a Yam. And a True Yam is another tuber all together.

To make matters more confusing, depending on the variety and where they are from the flesh could be different colors. Red skin with white flesh or red skin with purple flesh or tan skin with orange flesh.

Interchangeable Names? Depends on Who You Ask

Sweet potatoes and yam (U.S. version) can be used interchangeably in recipes. Once again, depending on who you ask, opinions will vary on how they should be used and what they are called.

Don’t worry your Sweet Potato Fries will still be orange.

Read about the former NFL Player who turned to Sweet Potato Farming, providing sweet potatoes to feed the community.

I hope you Enjoy the Southwest Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette!

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