Simple Candied Yams Recipe

Are they yams or sweet potatoes? The bright orange tubers sold in many parts of the United States are actually sweet potatoes and can be used for pies and other desserts. The color comes from beta carotene also found in carrots, pumpkin and butternut squash. A true yam is white not orange. Unlike most countries that regulate the names of some food and beverages, in the United States anything goes.

Yams and sweet potatoes have more nutrients than russet potatoes, but they also have more calories due to their higher sugar content. That hasn’t stopped diet and nutrition experts from recommending them as a substitute for white potatoes.

This very low sodium, simple Candied Yams recipe uses butter or margarine and brown sugar to provide a mild, slightly sweet flavor for this vegetable side dish.

Many candied yam recipes cover the yams with a thick, gooey sugar glaze adding calories from refined sugar to an already sweet food. Since candied yams are part of a high calorie Thanksgiving Day meal, most people do not need the extra fat and sugar calories.

Enjoy high fiber, high potassium Candied Yams any time as a substitute for mashed or fried potatoes. They take only minutes to prepare and are ready in 50 to 60 minutes.

Candied yams are a Thanksgiving tradition in the United States, but are available throughout the year for a simple vegetable dish you can serve with meat, poultry or fish.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs (675 g) yams or sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Method of Preparation