Yam

:For the Levantine god of the untamed sea (sometimes called Yam), see Yaw (god).

Preparation

Yams must be cooked to be safely eaten because various natural substances in raw yams can cause illness if consumed. Preparing some species of yam is a time-consuming process, involving days of pounding, leaching, and boiling to remove the toxins. Yams may be served boiled or pounded into a paste. In the Philippines, the purple ube variety of yam (Dioscorea alata, also known in India as ratalu or violet yam) is eaten as a sweetened dessert called halaya, and is also an ingredient in the fruity, pudding-like halo-halo, another popular Filipino dessert.

Related Topics:
Philippines - Halo-halo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An exception to the cooking rule is the Japanese mountain yam (Dioscorea opposita), known as nagaimo or yamaimo depending on the root shape. It is eaten raw and grated, after only a relatively minimal preparation: the whole tubers are briefly soaked in a vinegar-water solution, to neutralize irritant oxalate crystals found in their skin. The raw vegetable is starchy and bland, mucilaginous when grated, and may be eaten plain as a side dish, or added to noodles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~