What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?
What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?
Although the terms sweet potato and yam are often used interchangeably, the two vegetables are not technically related. Yams, which are native to Africa and Asia, are related to lillies and grasses. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are in the morning glory family.
If you look closely, you can tell them apart. Sweet potatoes are typically more uniformly shaped and have tapered ends. Yams have rough scaly brown or black skin and off-white, purple or red flesh. Sweet potatoes typically have yellow, red, purple or brown skin and yellow, orange or orange-red flesh.
In terns of flavor, yams tend to be sweeter and moister. Sweet potatoes differ in flavor depending on the variety -- paler, thinner-skinned sweet potatoes have lower sugar content and are dry and crumbly in texture, similar to a white baked potato. The more common, darker-skinned sweet potatoes have vivid orange flesh and are sweeter in taste and more moist in their texture -- these are the sweet potatoes often mistakenly called yams.
Despite their differences, commonly available varieties of both sweet potatoes and yams are fairly similar in taste and texture, you can generally use them interchangeably in recipes.
A tomatillo is a fruit that belongs to the same poetically titled "nightshade" family as the tomato. Also called a "Mexican green tomato," it does look like a small green tomato with a papery husk in place of skin. But it has a tart flavor all its own.
A key ingredient in Mexican and Latin American dishes such as guacamole and salsa verde, the tomatillo's flavor is deepened by cooking.
While tomatillos can also be purchased canned, fresh, ripe tomatillos will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks (or can be frozen). Tomatillos turn yellow as they continue to ripen, but should be used while still green in order to take advantage of their tart flavor.
Stevia is a sugar substitute. Made from South and Central American herbs and shrubs, whose leaves have up to 45 times more sweetness than table sugar, stevia has been used for centuries to sweeten yerba mate.
Since the 1970s, the Japanese have been the largest consumers of stevia in the world, and it can also be found throughout Asia, South America and Israel.
Because of health and safety concerns, the U.S. banned stevia in the early 1990s but It was approved as a food additive by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the end of 2008. It is currently banned in the E.U., Singapore and Hong Kong pending more research.
Black turtle beans, (usually just called black beans), are a high-protein, high-fiber legume especially popular in South American and Latin cooking. The beans are cultivated all over South and Central America, and an important part of national dishes such as feijoada from Brazil and Moros y Christianos from Cuba.
Like many beans and pulses, black beans have a meaty texture that holds up well in soups, rice dishes and as a filling for burritos and quesadillas. The flavor of black beans is reminiscent of mushrooms and adds earthy notes to a dish.
Black beans are usually a bit smaller than other types of cultivated legumes, like lima or kidney beans. As they cook, they develop a deep purple color.
To crimp something -- say, pastry, pizza or pie dough -- is to decoratively fold the edges of it, slightly overlapping the folds to create a rounded border.
Crimping is easy to do and makes the edges of sweet and savory pies, empanadas, dumplings and calzones look more finished. Crimping also seals two pieces of dough tightly to keep the filling ingredients from leaking out during baking.
Aluminum foil or parchment paper is also crimped when used to make a papillote. The sealed package seals in the steam that cooks the meat or fish.
Masa harina is a type of corn flour used in Mexican and Latin American cooking to make the dough for tortillas, tamales and pupusas.
Masa, which means "dough" in Spanish, is made from dried corn kernels that are cooked and soaked in limewater and then ground. Masa harina is the dried and powdered version of masa that is then turned back into dough by adding water. It is not the same thing as regular corn meal or corn flour and should not be substituted.
A tortilla is a Latin American flatbread, a pancake-like disc made from masa harina or wheat flour and baked on a griddle.
Though the bread itself predates the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, the name of the bread came from the Spanish, because it resembled an Iberian omelet (traditionally made with potatoes or salt cod) called a "tortilla" (which you can still find at most any tapas bar).
Tortillas can be eaten on their own, or used as an envelope for burritos, tacos, quesadillas or enchiladas. They can be cut up and fried or baked to make tortilla chips. Stale tortillas can be toasted or deep-fried whole to make a tostada shell for salad.
Recipe: Shrimp Tacos With Cabbage, Avocado, Feta And Cilantro (Cookthink)
Recipe: Black Bean And Carrot Burritos With Cilantro (Cookthink)
Recipe: Potato And Cheese Enchiladas (Washington Post)
Recipe: More Tortilla Recipes at Cookthink.com
what you should know
In 1950, tortilla chips originated in Los Angeles as a tasty solution to an imperfect tortilla problem.
Rebecca Webb Carranza took misshapen corn tortillas from her family's new automated tortilla factory, cut them up and fried them to a crisp for a party. Soon, the chips were the company's best selling product.
changeable crunch While tortilla chips are most common as an envoy for salsa and other dips, they can easily make their way into eggs, soups, and muffins. (They also figure prominently into a well-known hangover remedy.)
not your cheese Top your chips with melted cheese or place them around a pile of chile-braised pork shoulder, and you have nachos. If you're a true enthusiast, consider attending the International Nacho Festival in Mexico.
sweet treats Tortilla chips don't have to be confined to salty snacks. For something sweet, try a homemade cinnamon tortilla chip, or pick up a bag of Chocolate Tortilla Chips from Food Should Taste Good.
what you need
Making homemade chips? Start with corn or flour tortillas -- some are bound to be misshapen -- and then pick up one of these.
Have tortilla chips everyday by cooking Mexican Everyday.
The best way to serve chips and salsa? Keep it nice and simple with this dish.
Want to combine chip topping ideas with some Spanish lessons? Try a bilingual cookbook.
Salad tastes better in an edible bowl. Make your own with this tortilla mold.
what you should do
Chips out of the bag are easy, but deep-frying them at home is also easy and so much better.
Use your tortilla chips to make cornbread for skillet spoonbread cobbler.
For a gluten-free alternative to tortilla chips, try this brown rice version.
As an appetizer for many or a lunch for a few, scoop up some bites of layered chicken-avocado bowl.
Layer tortilla chips with cheese and veggies and you'll get Karina's nachos fabuloso.
Featured: With a creative spin on matzo brie, soaked tortilla chips and eggs make a savory breakfast dish. Congratulations to Olga of Mango & Tomato, who submitted this week's Root Source Challenge featured recipe.
Be sure to get your oysters (and all seafood) from a reliable fishmonger. If you don't have one, check your local supermarket -- many larger ones have excellent fish departments. Occasionally, busy seafood restaurants may also have an adjoining market open to the public.
When choosing oysters, rely on your senses:
Smell: Fresh oysters should smell like sea water; crisp and briny and not at all fishy. Pre-shucked oysters should have no ammonia smell.
Sight: Oysters should be kept on ice, in a well-drained refrigerated case. The shells should be mostly closed and should close tightly when tapped with a finger.
Touch: The oyster shells should be scratchy and may have barnacles; avoid oysters with lots of algae, seaweed or mossy patches, as these may have been kept in a tank with poor water circulation.
Taste: If you're lucky enough to be able to taste-test the oysters, check for levels of brininess and adjust your recipe accordingly.
In the United States, fish sellers are required by law to keep the delivery tags from shipments of fresh seafood. Ask to see the tags; they give the dates of shipment and delivery, so you'll know how long the oysters were in transit, how long they have been on display, and their source.
Reference: How to shuck an oyster (Cookthink)
Reference: What is an oyster knife? (Cookthink)
Cooking with dried beans requires a little forethought; before cooking, they must be soaked for at least an hour in boiling water or between four and eight hours in cold water. Then, they take at least an hour to cook.
On the other hand, they're inexpensive and can be seasoned in a multitude of ways during cooking. (Think ham hocks, fresh herbs and aromatic vegetables.) Plus, the texture of cooked dried beans is firmer and more substantial than typical canned beans.
Still, we keep our pantry stocked so that we always have ready-to-eat canned beans to add protein and texture to weeknight pastas, salads, soups, stews, chilis and burritos. Be sure to select a good brand to ensure that the beans have a firm texture, clean flavor and no added salt. (Inferior canned beans tend to be mushy and loaded with sodium.)
Cooking dried beans is one of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen tasks. Canned beans are convenient but are usually loaded with salt, making home-cooked beans healthier. And while it's true that it takes longer to cook beans than to open a can, cooking beans requires only about 5 minutes of active time.
You can soak beans overnight in cold water or soak them for an hour in boiling water if you're pressed for time. Legumes such as lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked at all before cooking, just quickly rinsed to clean off any dust.
Otherwise, any bean that would ordinarily need to be soaked overnight can get the quick-soak treatment, including lima beans, chickpeas, black beans, white beans, red beans, pinto beans, cranberry beans, navy beans, kidney beans, fava beans, pigeon peas and mung beans.
To cook beans, cover them with water and simmer slowly for about 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked. Adding cured pork or aromatics like bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley stems and vegetables such as carrots and onions to the cooking liquid adds flavor and character to a pot of beans.
If you're looking for a tequila to make mixed drinks like a margarita or a Long Island Iced Tea, where the delicate flavors of fine tequilas wouldn't be appreciated, opt for less expensive silver (blanco, or white) and gold (oro) varieties. They are bottled immediately after distillation, or aged for less than two months before bottling. Gold tequilas are simply silver tequilas that have been mixed with aged tequilas or caramel coloring and sugar so that they take on a light brownish tint.
Aged tequilas are kept in oak barrels before bottling and pick up both color and flavor while they rest. Reposado (rested) tequilas are aged for more than two months, but less than 1 year before being bottled. Añejo tequilas are aged more than one year, but less than three. These tequilas are most often chosen as sipping tequilas and possess nuances than the unaged tequilas don't.
Another factor in choosing a tequila is agave content; according to Mexican law, all tequilas must be made from 51% blue agave sugars, but the other 49% can be corn or cane sugars. Due to this technicality, many tequilas touted as being made from 100% blue agave are significantly more expensive, without a huge difference in taste.
In choosing a tequila for cooking purposes, these are the questions to answer: Are you steaming with tequila? Using it in a marinade? Will the tequila affect the color of the finished dish? Will the smoky flavors of a reposado or añejo even be detectable?
In general, if the tequila is going to be cooked or used with lots of herbs, spices and chiles, then choose good quality silver or gold tequila, as the complex flavors of aged tequilas would be wasted. In highly spiced dishes, the acidity and bite of the tequila should be a bit rough in order to be tasted over the other flavors -- gold and silver tequila, or even mezcal perfectly fit the bill.
In dishes where the tequila will not be heated at all, like an ice cream, ceviche or salad dressing, then an aged tequila could be used. The flavor of a $10 shot of premium tequila will most likely disappear if used in a chili or stew, but may elevate the delicate flavor of lime ice cream to the ethereal.
