Best Yam Types in the World
Native to China, yamaimo or Chinese yam is a climbing plant that bears edible tuberous roots with hard white flesh that is encased in a thin, light brown or yellowish outer skin. The tuberous roots are similar in flavor to potatoes or water chestnuts and are widely used as traditional medicine and an ingredient in Asian cuisine.
Raw or cooked, Chinese yam is typically consumed on its own, added to soups, stews, and many other dishes for extra flavor and texture. This plant is cultivated throughout East Asia, including Japan, Korea, Kuril Islands, and Vietnam, and may vary in shape and color.
Mahoaa ufi is a yam variety of the Dioscorea alata L. species that is grown and cultivated in the Kingdom of Tonga. This yam typically bears large, round to elongated round tubers. Although other round or short yams generally have a lower flavor quality and inferior overall characteristics compared to long yams, this yam variety is characterized by an excellent tuber flavor.
Like most round yams, the mahoaa ufi yams are typically planted during the third traditional season of planting yams in Tonga, which lasts from October till December and is known as the tokamui planting season. There are several varieties of mahoaa yams grown on the Tongan islands of ‘Eua, Vava’u, and Ha’apai including mahoaa lotuma, mahoaa leleva, mahoaa hina, and mahoaa tonga.
Lixian Ma Shan Yao are yam tubers, dried yam strips and chips of the "Dioscorea batatas Decne" species, produced in the Li County region, Hebei Province in China. Yams are cultivated in a traditional manner and techniques, where the sandy and loamy soil favourably influence the growing process.
Dried yam strips are made from fresh yams that are peeled, sliced and then air-dried or dehydrated in a special dryer, developing a crisp taste and a uniform size. Fresh yams come in three varieties - Bangyao, Ziyao and Xiaobaizui, variable in length and taste.
Droma (lat. Dioscorea opposita or Dioscorea batatas) refers to the Tibetan yam, a type of tuber that is particularly valued in Tibetan cuisine and traditional medicine.
It is known for its sweet taste and its nutritional benefits. Droma is believed to have health-promoting properties, including aiding digestion, improving vitality, and being beneficial for the kidney and spleen, according to Tibetan medicine. It is often used in various dishes, including traditional Tibetan soups and stews.
People of the Konak society living in New Caledonia have had a long-standing tradition of taro and yam cultivation, and both of these crops have been an integral part of the local diet, culture, and tradition for many generations. Things have changed, nevertheless, and although these traditional tubers are still included in the local population’s customs and traditions, Lifou Island taro and yam have been replaced by global food items such as potatoes, bread, rice, and pasta in the local people’s daily diet.
Symbolically associated with women, taro (Colocasia escolenta) has firm stalks with large leaves, while its starchy corms are an excellent source of plant proteins, calcium, and iron. When boiled, this tuberous crop is distinguished by a chestnut-like aroma and floury consistency.
Ufi lei is a variety of Tongan yam that belongs to the Dioscorea esculenta species of the Dioscoreaceae family. Commonly known as sweet yam or lesser yam, ufi lei is a short type of yam that is typically planted during the third traditional planting of yams called the tokamui planting season, which starts in October and lasts till December.
Oval, spindle-shaped, or cylindrical, the yam’s tuber is typically defined by a thin, smooth or spiny, brownish skin that encloses the starchy white or yellow flesh. Different ufi lei varieties are cultivated on the islands of Niuatoputapu, Niuafo’ou, Vava’u, and Ha’apai, while some of them are under threat of going extinct.
One of the most highly-prized crops in the Kingdom of Tonga, the kahokaho ufi is a yam variety of the Dioscorea alata L. species. This yam is a long yam variety that yields long and slender white-fleshed tubers which are renowned for their unique flavor.
The planting of the kahokaho yam used to take place at least a month earlier than all other yams, usually at the end of June. Nowadays, it is typically planted during the traditional tokamu’a and ta’ulahi planting seasons, which last from January to March and from July to September, respectively.
Hawaii ufi is a yam variety grown and cultivated in the Kingdom of Tonga that belongs to the Dioscorea alata species. It is also known as white yam or water yam. Among the varieties of this yam type are hawaii lo’a and hawaii mangamanga, the latter of which is characterized by short branching tubers with a good quality flavor.
This type of yam is grown and cultivated on the Tongan islands of ‘Eua, Ha’apai, Vava’u, and Niaugo’ou.
Voli ufi is an edible yam variety grown in the Kingdom of Tonga. The yam belongs to the Dioscorea alata species, also known as white yam or water yam. This type of yam is a part of the group of round yams or yams with short tubers and is prized for its good quality.
The tubers of voli ufi are large and elongated and are defined by a smooth outer skin and white flesh on the inside. Just like other round or short yams, this one is also typically planted from October through December, which is the period of the third traditional planting of yams in Tonga called the tokamui planting season.
Kau meile ufi is one of the edible yam varieties grown and cultivated in the Kingdom of Tonga. This yam type is a variety of the Dioscorea alata species, also known as water yam or white yam. It belongs to the group of yams characterized by long tubers, which are of higher value and are more esteemed on the islands due to their better flavor and overall characteristics.
Kau meile ufi is characterized by good eating quality and sticky texture of its flesh, which can be either white or red. There are numerous varieties of this yam type including kaumeile hako, kaumeile hina, kaumeile kula, kaumeile lautoka, and kaumeile lokaloka.
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