I Yam What I Yam Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dioscorea

The yam is a common name for plants found in the genus Dioscorea of the Dioscoreaceae family. These plants are perennial herbaceous vines grown primarily in Africa and Asia.

Answer: tuber

Yam plants produce tubers which are cultivated for consumption. These tubers are monocotyledons, cylindrical in shape and have a high starch content.

Answer: All of these methods

A yam can be prepared by barbecuing, roasting, frying, grilling, boiling, baking or smoking. The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, India, Nepal and countries in Africa all have unique recipes for yams.

Answer: no

The sweet potato, also known as the Ipomoea batatas, is a large, starchy vegetable that belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. Sweet potatoes are grown in South America while yams are grown in Africa and Asia. A sweet potato tastes moist and sweet while a yam tastes dry and starchy.

A sweet potato is orange in color, round with a smooth skin while a yam is cylindrical and white in color with a a rough skin.

Answer: Store in a cool, dark, dry area

Yams are living organisms and the respiration process oxidizes their starch into water, carbon dioxide and heat energy. Thus yams should be stored in a cool, dark, dry area for up to two weeks. Once cooked, yams can be kept refrigerated for up to three days in an airtight container.

Answer: protein

Yams have a lower protein content, 1.5 grams of protein per 100 grams of yams, than other crops such as corn, rice, wheat, soybean. Yams are a good source of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin B1 vitamin C, manganese, thiamine and dietary fiber.

Answer: Nigeria and Ghana

The New Yam Festival of the Igbo is a festival held by the Igbo people in western Africa, primarily in the countries Nigeria and Ghana. The festival is known as Orureshi, Ima-Ji, Iri-Ji or Iwa-Ji depending on which dialect is spoken by the celebrants. The festival is held at the end of the rainy season in early August and during the harvest season of the yams.

Answer: white and yellow

Dioscorea rotundata, known as the "white yam", and Dioscorea cayenensis, known as the "yellow yam" are important and the most abundant species of yams. These yams are cultivated in West African countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.

Answer: egg rolls

Egg rolls are food items found mainly in Chinese and do not contain the purple ube species of yam. In the Philippines, the purple ube species of yam is eaten as a sweetened dessert called ube halaya and is also used as an ingredient in the dessert called halo-halo.

In Vietnam, the purple ube species of yam is used for preparing a type of soup called canh khoai mỡ or fatty yam soup.

Answer: South America

Dioscorea trifida is a species of yams grown in the tropical rain forest of South America. This yam is also grown in some Caribbean nations. Common names of this yam include the Indian yam, the cush-cush yam and the yampee yam. It is called mapuey in Venezuela, inhame in Brazil, tabena in Colombia and sacha papa in Peru.