The Unbelievable History of Sweet Potatoes

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  • čas přidán 15. 12. 2021
  • In this video, we take a look at the history of sweet potatoes, from their earliest origins, to the oceans they traversed in pre-history, to their spread to the plates of the upper classes of Europe, all the way to the modern day.
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Komentáře • 1,5K

  • @maxputhoff1436
    @maxputhoff1436 Před 2 lety +552

    "Some say that the sweet potato could have spread by natural, nonhuman means."
    "Are you suggesting that sweet potatoes migrate?"
    "It could grip it by the husk."
    "It's not a question of where he grips it!"

    • @jeffroberts3640
      @jeffroberts3640 Před 2 lety +15

      Where'd you get the coconuts then?
      Lol

    • @Qetesh773
      @Qetesh773 Před 2 lety +5

      I’m thinking Pangea

    • @jaynecampbell4396
      @jaynecampbell4396 Před 2 lety +10

      Try bird poop or the like. Geez.....

    • @maxputhoff1436
      @maxputhoff1436 Před 2 lety +34

      @@jaynecampbell4396 No, it was clearly sparrows carrying the whole thing over in a rudimentary attempt to start their own agricultural society.

    • @thomascovello9781
      @thomascovello9781 Před 2 lety +4

      I said same thing why am I watching about sweet potato after I watched it 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @MagdaleneDivine
    @MagdaleneDivine Před 2 lety +2279

    I never thought that I would reach a point in my life where I was watching CZcams videos discussing the history of Sweet Potatoes at 4am

    • @MagdaleneDivine
      @MagdaleneDivine Před 2 lety +51

      I am so sorry. I smoked and thought id sleep and instead I won't shut up

    • @myamdane6895
      @myamdane6895 Před 2 lety +10

      Sounds like the dream tbh

    • @jsgwam
      @jsgwam Před 2 lety +9

      @@MagdaleneDivine me too man. But I did sleep and it's 12 noon here

    • @Thejennyshams
      @Thejennyshams Před 2 lety +4

      I got the notification at 1:25 am. It's 1pm here

    • @jsgwam
      @jsgwam Před 2 lety

      @@Thejennyshams 10pm👿👿👿

  • @cucummmber
    @cucummmber Před 2 lety +624

    Iʻm Māori from Aotearoa/New Zealand.
    My people have oral histories of how some of our ancestors (before coming to New Zealand) traveled East in search of lands to flee political untest.
    When they arrived to (likely) Chile, they had seen it was already well populated but the people there were friendly and welcoming.
    An exchange occured, including assisting in some skirmishes, ‘marriages’, sharing of knowledge, and with our ancestors receiving the kūmara (sweet potato), uhi (yam), and such.
    Those ancestors returned home (at the time, Tahiti) and then the food crops spread across the Pacific through trade and so forth.
    I was told these stories as a child and it makes me happy to see others hearing about them, albeit through scientific discovery.😊

    • @shawndemetrios7899
      @shawndemetrios7899 Před 2 lety +6

      Amazing

    • @Sybil_Detard
      @Sybil_Detard Před 2 lety +9

      Cool, thanks for sharing. As an aside, and useful for nothing, of all the ethnicities of the world, I find the male Maori to be the most attractive.

    • @BernasLL
      @BernasLL Před 2 lety +36

      ​@@Sybil_Detard If out of nowhere I confessed to a stranger black woman I think people of her ethnicity are hot, wouldn't that be somewhat creepy?
      Though, as a rule, men take such comments more lightly for a wide number of reasons. It's just something to think about.

    • @EthanPerales.
      @EthanPerales. Před 2 lety +23

      @@Sybil_Detard not cool dude, in fact kinda creepy

    • @Sybil_Detard
      @Sybil_Detard Před 2 lety +10

      @@BernasLL Ok. Yeah. Let's just say I like men who are tall, dark and handsome. Happy New Year.

  • @garyleibitzke4166
    @garyleibitzke4166 Před 2 lety +196

    Glad you mentioned that what are called "yams" in U.S. grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes. I've had a hard time convincing people of that.

    • @Fireoflearning
      @Fireoflearning  Před 2 lety +32

      Yes, I was surprised. I've gotten a number of comments on this video saying "Those aren't sweet potatoes, those are yams."

    • @Delgen1951
      @Delgen1951 Před 2 lety +4

      some brands of caned sweet potatoes do explane that fact.

    • @AndrewMyYouTubeThingsAndStuff
      @AndrewMyYouTubeThingsAndStuff Před 2 lety +4

      Sweet...mother...of...god...🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 I believe you but...all my life... ... ... all ... my... friggin... life...

    • @mrdudeman29
      @mrdudeman29 Před 2 lety +5

      Seriously people are convinced there s a difference. I worked at sprouts a few years back and people would always say "I see the yams but do you guys have sweet potatoes" it always made me feel like i was taking crazy pills lol

    • @boathousejoed9005
      @boathousejoed9005 Před 2 lety

      It's funny,I love sweet potatoes but don't care for Louisiana yams.

  • @Fireoflearning
    @Fireoflearning  Před 2 lety +87

    I'd like to welcome you all to a classic 4 AM Fire of Learning upload.

    • @vulture9086
      @vulture9086 Před 2 lety +2

      thats my favorite kind of upload

    • @danielovercash1093
      @danielovercash1093 Před 2 lety +3

      Perfect timing I just got off work

    • @TammyJerkChicken
      @TammyJerkChicken Před 2 lety +1

      Awww don’t worry! It was released at 9am for us UK viewers 😉

    • @quill444
      @quill444 Před 2 lety +2

      ​@@TammyJerkChicken Oh _Tickety-Boo!_ Shall we crack open some Mayonnaise? 🍟 🔘 🍠 - j q t -

    • @markowen3407
      @markowen3407 Před 2 lety +2

      What was with the Avril lyrics at the end? Be honest

  • @Xiuhcoatl_
    @Xiuhcoatl_ Před 2 lety +201

    That outro was legendary.
    Truly a masterpiece of a video.

  • @tjshull98
    @tjshull98 Před 2 lety +980

    you say unbelievable but I'm literally about to trust everything you say without a second thought

    • @howtubeable
      @howtubeable Před 2 lety +32

      Please, learn critical thinking skills.

    • @kazumpet720
      @kazumpet720 Před 2 lety +59

      @@howtubeable hell no

    • @culibarri7
      @culibarri7 Před 2 lety +23

      I know this is a joke, but thats an absolutely a terrible attitude and perspective especially in history

    • @joesickler5888
      @joesickler5888 Před 2 lety +9

      I don’t know what it is but I believe him, yo!

    • @eversostrange6337
      @eversostrange6337 Před 2 lety +6

      @@joesickler5888 yo, the guy on the couch, is this the history of sweet potatoes?

  • @thisisahumanlol8255
    @thisisahumanlol8255 Před 2 lety +24

    I was not ready for that epic outro

    • @rb3872
      @rb3872 Před 2 lety

      A strange outro indeed. The narrator giving his best shot at being poetic?

    • @Char......
      @Char...... Před 2 lety

      @@rb3872 It's an Avril Lavigne song. Lol

  • @breathless8075
    @breathless8075 Před 2 lety +13

    For all of us that can't sleep. Thanks 👍😊

  • @crazycain1984
    @crazycain1984 Před 2 lety +17

    Growing up, we ate ALOT of sweet potatoes cooked every way you can imagine. Yet all of our friends turn their noses up to & hated them. Cool to see the history of something as basic, yet as important as the sweet potato

    • @martinemjt
      @martinemjt Před 2 lety +1

      Sweet potatoes purée and whole buckwheat is amazing!

    • @crazycain1984
      @crazycain1984 Před 2 lety

      @@martinemjt never had it that way but sounds really good

    • @alicecain4851
      @alicecain4851 Před rokem

      My last name is Cain.
      What made you 🤪?

    • @chickensalad3535
      @chickensalad3535 Před rokem +1

      Really? That surprises me. Sweet potatoes are literally sweet vegetables! That's every kids dream!

    • @Zimbly
      @Zimbly Před 9 měsíci

      Wait... Let me imagine.
      Boiled sweet potato and put in the 🍑 hole of a pig and roasted then eaten.
      Can you confirm if this imagination was right. 😂😂😂

  • @ehrashkae6343
    @ehrashkae6343 Před 2 lety +28

    The sweet potato is also the best option for making alcohol, since it has a natural source of alpha amylase needed for converting starch to sugars. Normal potato's for vodka is a much more complex process.

    • @jonathanjones3126
      @jonathanjones3126 Před 2 lety +6

      I have wondered what have humans not tried to turn into alcohol.

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 Před 2 lety +4

      @@jonathanjones3126 if it's edible we'll turn it into booze LOL.

    • @HarborLockRoad
      @HarborLockRoad Před 2 lety +1

      Awesome, youve invented " yodka"!!!

  • @zenolachance1181
    @zenolachance1181 Před 2 lety +101

    Could you please do more videos on common fruits and vegetables and their Origins? For some reason I find this subject fascinating! The history of tomato is also interesting!! Another one that's pretty interesting is the history of the cabbage and how it developed into broccoli cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Maybe the history of turnips and rutabagas?

    • @nathanadams6648
      @nathanadams6648 Před 2 lety +5

      As someone who has worked in produce for 25 years. I concur. However I know the origin of most American vegetables. I don't feel like I know their story. Did you know a rutabaga is a cross between turnip and savoy cabbage?

    • @zenolachance1181
      @zenolachance1181 Před 2 lety +3

      @@nathanadams6648 yep and I know that the Macomber turnip it's a cross between a turnip and a radish... a lot of people don't know what a Macomber turnip is, but they are a variety of turnip that was naturally cross-pollinated in Westport Massachusetts and they are extremely extremely protective of the seed. So I went into somebody's garden and stole some seed!

    • @nathanadams6648
      @nathanadams6648 Před 2 lety +4

      @@zenolachance1181 rogue gardeners are my favorite

    • @mikiohirata9627
      @mikiohirata9627 Před 2 lety +4

      If he's going to do specials in origins of veges. I wish he'd do research on how modern
      Japanese farmers transformed so many varieties of veges. and fruit for modern ppl's
      consumptions. You'll find most seedless fruit were cloned /originated there.
      How they went after more sweetness, juiciness, softness and everything else you can think of.
      Oh there are so many varieties of sweet potatoes in Japan and they're nothing like
      yams which is too squishy with very little flavor of its own (I like simple baked ones I used to get in my native land of Japan) for my taste.

    • @nathanadams6648
      @nathanadams6648 Před 2 lety +2

      @@mikiohirata9627 Yeah the okinawa sweet potato are really goooooood

  • @user-4m9-dr80h4
    @user-4m9-dr80h4 Před 2 lety +68

    Small omission: the (white) potato is anatomically a tuber or starch storing vessel, whereas the sweet potato is a root proper, though it too consists mainly of starch. As such, the sweet potato may be slightly more nutritious than the potato.

    • @bezzyranx9839
      @bezzyranx9839 Před 2 lety +15

      Much more nutritious you mean!!😌

    • @elbob17
      @elbob17 Před 2 lety +3

      A shame it tastes like hot dog shit.

    • @jimmylight4866
      @jimmylight4866 Před 2 lety +3

      With potatoes you always want to eat ones with more color. Avoid the white potato. All the nutrition has been engineered out of it.

    • @grantsmith505
      @grantsmith505 Před 2 lety +1

      @@bezzyranx9839
      Kumara are alkalizing and have excellent effects on lowering blood pressure and is an insulin mimic.
      Also a really potent anti mutagenic and anti tumour compound ( stops you getting cancer, slows down cancer development )
      The tops, camote, are a really nutritious food also
      Potato is acidifying, with toxic plants
      Not even the same ballpark hey

    • @Jjohnny642
      @Jjohnny642 Před 2 lety +4

      @@elbob17 lol that’s a low bar. They are pretty good prepared right, like hot dogs

  • @MelissaThompson432
    @MelissaThompson432 Před 2 lety +117

    I live near a place that was a commune, started by a bunch of mostly urban college students, and they survived a long, somewhat harrowing first winter back in the 70s on sweet potatoes and soybeans, which were the only crops they planted that grew.... They learned fairly quickly how to make tofu. I lived elsewhere at the time, and fortunately did not experience winter party tent living with hundreds of people fueled by beans and sweet taters....

    • @stanlindert6332
      @stanlindert6332 Před 2 lety +6

      The Farm ?

    • @CorePathway
      @CorePathway Před 2 lety +3

      …and LoVe

    • @RPKnight101
      @RPKnight101 Před 2 lety +11

      Probably fueled by drugs as well let’s not forget that shit.

    • @VincentGonzalezVeg
      @VincentGonzalezVeg Před 2 lety +2

      @@RPKnight101 you make things in your brain right now
      That are awesome

    • @Kiido11
      @Kiido11 Před 2 lety +10

      Fortunate choice of crops, too - carbs for the bulk calories & complete protein from soy.
      Where was this, by the way?

  • @bacsacbest
    @bacsacbest Před 2 lety +152

    When it comes to sweet potatoes in the Pacific islands, you might be ineterested to learn about inca Tupac Yupanqui's expedition to Polynesia. He apparently reached Awachumbi (Mangareva island) and Ninachumbi (Easter Island) in the mid XVth century. There are many archeological findings to support this theory as well as cultural elements such as the King Tupa legend in Mangareva, inca style constructions in Rapa Nui and ancient quipus found in the Pacific Islands. Quipus were a method to record information used by the Incas equivalent to writing. Prior to this, there was sporadic commercial contact between western South America and Polynesia.
    Thor Heyerdahl proved in 1947 that such a voyage was possible using native South American technology.

    • @fod1235
      @fod1235 Před 2 lety +6

      2pac*

    • @eleanorcramer7986
      @eleanorcramer7986 Před 2 lety +3

      Kon Tiki was the vessel.

    • @dan5974
      @dan5974 Před 2 lety +2

      @@fod1235 ambitionz az a zea ridaz

    • @Tripplebeem
      @Tripplebeem Před 2 lety +2

      Wasn’t there recent generic sequencing that has suggested that South America was initially populated by Pacific Islanders sailing there rather peoples crossing the ice bridge and coming down to South America?

    • @goldstandardsilver555
      @goldstandardsilver555 Před 2 lety +4

      Tupac went Polynesia? Is that where he’s been hiding?

  • @paulocruz5834
    @paulocruz5834 Před 2 lety +57

    Here in Portugal, we still have some traditional cultivares circulating. I think the varieties survived because of the diferent culinary uses. From the big orange peel kind that make great stews to the more slender dark grey peel kind which is very good to roast.

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 Před 2 lety +5

      Portugueses também chamam a batata comum de batata inglesa?
      É irônico como os britânicos chamam ela de batata Irlandesa, e o mundo luso as chama de batatas inglesas hahaha

    • @tiagotimoteo4004
      @tiagotimoteo4004 Před 2 lety +5

      @@riograndedosulball248 Em Portugal chamamos às "sweet potatoes" de batatas doces e às "white popatoes" de apenas batatas.

    • @krono5el
      @krono5el Před 2 lety +1

      i dont think its a european tradition, i think potatoes and tomatoes were used for thousands of years in the Americas, that might be a tradition and or legacy compared to 100 years of europeans using them.

    • @yabugarcia5945
      @yabugarcia5945 Před 2 lety +1

      how is it called in Portugal, in Spain is boniato.

  • @99corncob
    @99corncob Před 2 lety +22

    Sweet potatoes were introduced to Japan specifically in response to a famine, just as they were in China. A Japanese noble imported them from China to relieve a long famine and they remain a favorite in Japan today.

    • @StickyKeys187
      @StickyKeys187 Před rokem

      Interesting how these starchy tubers tend to be adopted in non native places during times of famine. Like the potato plant during the great famine in Ireland.

  • @retrogamermax8287
    @retrogamermax8287 Před 2 lety +92

    Could you cover the history of chocolate as I think that would be a fascinating video to watch.

    • @retrogamermax8287
      @retrogamermax8287 Před 2 lety +5

      @@xionmemoria Yes. The Aztec Emperor and Aztec elites was drinking chocolate and was originally attempting to make alcohol even though they fail to do so.

    • @TuWear
      @TuWear Před 2 lety

      @@xionmemoria It was not though, it was often sweetened with Malipona honey and vanilla. Heck, they even knew how to make chocolate foam which is only known in small parts of the Americas.

  • @vago1996porlaputa
    @vago1996porlaputa Před 2 lety +22

    Funny thing about Botata >> Patata >> potato:
    In the South Cone (Chile ~Argentina) we call the Patata "Papa". AND the Sweet potato "Batata"

  • @gregoryferraro7379
    @gregoryferraro7379 Před 2 lety +30

    I associated the sweet potato with Polynesia and thought that was where it originated. I am amazed that it actually comes from Central America and that it is evidence that Polynesians had contact with native people of the Americas. Incredible!

    • @kennethbennett4618
      @kennethbennett4618 Před 2 lety +9

      60-70% of the produce we eat originated from the new world.

    • @Bacopa68
      @Bacopa68 Před 2 lety +2

      @@kennethbennett4618 David Hume refuted the idea that human history was eternal by stating that if this were so, earlier extinct civilizations in Europe or Africa would have crossed the Atlantic and contacted extinct civilizations in the Americas and exchanged crops and livestock. The potato would have been known to Europe, maize to Africa, and wheat to the Americas.

    • @peter10562
      @peter10562 Před rokem

      There's record of the Polynesia and Native Americans coexisting in Americas. It's in the Book of Mormon

  • @robkunkel8833
    @robkunkel8833 Před 2 lety +64

    5:20 I’ve read that the mango was presented to the Spanish King and Queen at the same time and it was NOT accepted gracefully, like the sweet potato. The Sweet potato travels much better, that’s for sure. On our schooner, it was always safe to keep sweet potatoes & yams on deck in a wet/dry locker. They last a long time in all conditions.

    • @AchillesWrath1
      @AchillesWrath1 Před 2 lety +4

      You should read about the history of the pineapple. At one point they were so valuable only the most wealthy people had them and would buy one just to show off at parties.

    • @dbmail545
      @dbmail545 Před 2 lety +4

      I want to purchase a freeze dryer. I think boiled, freeze dried sweet potatoes have great potential as a healthy snack food.

    • @Bacopa68
      @Bacopa68 Před 2 lety +4

      @@AchillesWrath1 In Colonial America the pineapple was so prized as a symbol of wealth and hospitality that gates in walls had cast iron pineapples on the gate posts. They are still pretty common in parts of Virginia and to a lesser extent in Massachusetts.

    • @saintluisito
      @saintluisito Před 2 lety

      Mangoes are originally from South East Asia, not from the Americas, and were brought to the west centuries before Christopher Columbus by the Persians and Arabs. If the Spanish brought them to the courts of the kings of Spain, the mangoes must have been coming from the Philippines.

    • @topixfromthetropix1674
      @topixfromthetropix1674 Před 2 lety

      One of the early British queens had mangosteen imported from Thailand during their reign. Mangosteen is not like mangos.

  • @adambussert3383
    @adambussert3383 Před 2 lety +6

    I love this type of information. I’ve traveled Peru and was amazed by the variety of potato’s and vegetables.

    • @Realatmx
      @Realatmx Před rokem +1

      I wanna visit peru but its too far from Asia🥺

  • @blackpanda7298
    @blackpanda7298 Před 2 lety +26

    In Jamaica we call white potatoes 🥔 Irish ☘️ It’s actually kind of funny. When they say boiled Irish, instead of boiled potatoes. As a kid I always thought it was strange, White potatoes were brought from Ireland to Jamaica, sweet potatoes were always there and I guess that’s why they call them potatoes. 🍠

    • @anndeecosita3586
      @anndeecosita3586 Před 2 lety +9

      Potato are originally from South America so if they went to Jamaica via Ireland they took the long way around. 😂

    • @Bacopa68
      @Bacopa68 Před 2 lety +1

      Can you even grow white potatoes to maturity in Jamaica? Maybe in the mountains you can. White potatoes can't be grown to maturity in Gulf Coast of the US.

    • @blackpanda7298
      @blackpanda7298 Před 2 lety +6

      @@Bacopa68 they’re grown in the higher elevations , the climate is much cooler also they’re grown in the winter.

    • @StickyKeys187
      @StickyKeys187 Před rokem

      Taro might grow better in your neck of the woods.

    • @blackpanda7298
      @blackpanda7298 Před rokem

      @@StickyKeys187 we got them too, we call them dasheen. We boil them and use them in soup.

  • @glennschaub560
    @glennschaub560 Před 2 lety +107

    Read the book Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl . Him and his crew built a balsa wood raft and sailed from South America to Tahiti in 1947 . At that time scientists always claimed that the coconuts and sweet potatoes grown there came from ocean currents carrying these to Polynesian islands . They discredited Heyerdahl’s theory that only humans could have brought them to far away islands and places . Heyerdahl proved them wrong by showing that ocean salt water destroyed them in ocean currents . They still discredit him for his hypothesis but those people on these islands said that his ship and how he got there were what their elders always claimed true . And now scientists admit people brought these not ocean currents .

    • @andrewsuryali8540
      @andrewsuryali8540 Před 2 lety +12

      This is ass-backwards. What the video is saying is that Polynesians (who originated in Asia) managed to sail to South America and back at one point. Thor Heyerdahl's discredited hypothesis was that Polynesians originated in South America. It's discredited because every single evidence from linguistics to genetics to cultural traditions points to an Asian origin. Scientists in Heyerdahl's time already believed that Polynesians managed to reach South America thanks to stuff like sweet potatoes. They just couldn't agree on where the Polynesians themselves came from.

    • @Roylamx
      @Roylamx Před 2 lety +4

      @@andrewsuryali8540 Look into Red haired people of New Zeland, there's so much we don't know.

    • @Tera4m
      @Tera4m Před 2 lety

      @@andrewsuryali8540:
      Migration of the Pacific
      This is what we’re suppose to believe the #worldsgreatestnavigatorseverperiod!!! backtracked🤦🏽‍♂️
      Hawaiians migrated from their ancient homeland of the Haida Gwaii from the northwest of America [Gwaii & Hawaii meaning Homeland] who, bare striking resemblance in cultural ritual to our own
      Research the Tlingit, their customs, beliefs & way of life. You’ll see how our lifestyle was adapted from their protocols. Knowledge that goes right down to the migration of fish, than birds,, that followed thereafter
      Whilst the Tahitians & the Rapa Nui brought the Kumara & the Peruperu from their homeland of Peru in South America
      The Tahitians brought their knowledge of the Stars, Horticulture & Priestly titles,, such as the Tohunga, Kahuna & Tufuga (Prophets/Levitical Priesthood). You see, we’ve been mapping stars since we knew how to manipulate the populace into thinking, we could control them,, think "Apocalypto" That’s how our people knew the constellations before it even became common knowledge to,, average man...

    • @Tera4m
      @Tera4m Před 2 lety

      @@andrewsuryali8540:
      Haida Gwaii - [Kalonakikeke]Alaska
      Hawaii
      Havaii - Tahitian
      Havaiki - Niue, Marquesas,,
      Hawaiki - Māori
      Avaiki - Raro-Tongan
      Savaii - Samoan
      Savaiki - Tongareva
      Sawaiki - Fijian
      Tahitian Mā ohi
      Hawaiian Māoli
      Cook Island Māori
      Māori
      Māori - Hawaiiki Nui, Hawaiiki Roa, Hawaiiki Pamamao
      Hawaiian - Kahiki Nui, Kahiki Loa, Kahiki Pamamao
      Tahitian - Tawhiti Nui, Tawhiti Roa, Tawhiti Pamamao
      Or in the words of the ancients, an extension from one island, to the next & so forth. Knowing with absolute certainty, that all roads,, lead home. This is the real heritage taught by those who live it & keep it very much "Alive & Well" even today, with Hawaiki Atea being,, the Home of God
      Father/Homeland of Kanaloa
      Atea - Marquesas Islands
      Akea
      Makea - Aotearoa
      Vatea - Society Islands
      Vakea -
      Wakea - Hawai’i
      7 Waka of Migration to Aotearoa, New Zealand
      Tainui - Aitutaki (Rarotonga)
      Kurahaupo - Aitiu (Rarotonga)
      Tokomaru - Mangia (Rarotonga)
      Te Arawa - Raiatea (Tahiti)
      Mātaatua - Tahiti
      Takitimu - Rarotonga
      Aotea - Mauke (Rarotonga)

    • @Tera4m
      @Tera4m Před 2 lety

      @@andrewsuryali8540:
      Māui:
      - Te Ika a Maui
      As legends would have it, many centuries before the great migration to Aotearoa,, two brother [of Ephraim descent] decided to voyage from their homeland of Egypt. As far as stories go, the brothers [after circumnavigating more than half the globe] would find themselves upon the uninhabited Islands of Hawaii. One of the brothers [supposedly ashamed to return home] opted to stay & settle within the islands naming one in particular,, after himself. The brother, not being satisfied by the fish abound,, decided to find fish further abroad. By using nothing other than the blood from his nose as bait, cast his hook deep within the murky depth. Upon the realisation he was not landing a fish but instead fishing a land, reeled the great fish in naming it also after himself,, Te Ika ā Māui...

  • @jonathanbarnes3061
    @jonathanbarnes3061 Před 2 lety +15

    Whoow, talk about breaking misconceptions that was exhaustive.
    ( check the notes in the description)
    Sweet potato pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. 🥞 🍁 🇨🇦

  • @Mark-uh3un
    @Mark-uh3un Před 2 lety +12

    Perfect timing, I’ve recently started making sweet potatoes instead of regular ones

    • @leonieromanes7265
      @leonieromanes7265 Před 2 lety

      They are a staple here in New Zealand, we call them Kumara. Kumara are awesome tossed in olive oil, salt and soy or Worcestershire sauce, roasted in the oven.

  • @NickVenture1
    @NickVenture1 Před 2 lety +12

    These sweet potatoes are growing all over the garden here... And they are nice tasting.
    Subscribed now to your channel.

  • @bethmarriott9292
    @bethmarriott9292 Před 2 lety +75

    The Māori pronunciation (as a British person having lived in New Zealand most of my life so not a native speaker) of Kūmara is more KOO-mah-ruh with emphasis on the first KOO, but it's really hard to get when you've only seen it written down; a look at more of the Polynesian migration history would be super cool also NGL

    • @jsgwam
      @jsgwam Před 2 lety +2

      Yes, I agree, Beth *Marriott*

    • @clvrswine
      @clvrswine Před 2 lety +5

      The Māori are new-comers to New Zealand. Only came there 700 years ago, not thousands of years.

    • @stephenlitten1789
      @stephenlitten1789 Před 2 lety

      @@clvrswine So, they brought kumara (which grew just about everywhere) and taro (which was a real fussy bugger)

    • @leonieromanes7265
      @leonieromanes7265 Před 2 lety +3

      @@clvrswine Maori started to explore Aotearoa/New Zealand around 2000 years ago. But didn't start settling there until 1000 to 800 years ago. Archaeologists have found bones of polynesian rats that date back to around the birth of Christ.

    • @ANTSEMUT1
      @ANTSEMUT1 Před 2 lety

      @@leonieromanes7265 on mass anyway, some iwi claim to have stayed the whole 2,000 years and not part of the 80 Waka later migration.

  • @johnbaugh2437
    @johnbaugh2437 Před 2 lety +3

    I love potatoes in my garden. They grow easily and it’s like a treasure hunt when you pull them.

  • @ploptart4649
    @ploptart4649 Před 2 lety +4

    Super interesting! Thank you! I also liked your poem at the end. Keep up the good work!

  • @dariuszenthoefer3758
    @dariuszenthoefer3758 Před 2 lety

    Some people spend years trying to perfect the craft of comedy, but you speak the words of a popular 90's song and it's the funniest thing I've heard all week

  • @punkjunk9479
    @punkjunk9479 Před 2 lety +2

    I love your channel, I've learned about everything from the Spanish Empire to the History of sweet Potatoes!
    Please don't ever stop making content. You are 100% my favourite history channel.

  • @HuggieBear39
    @HuggieBear39 Před 2 lety +55

    Thank you, Mom and I were baking pies and I asked what was the difference between Yams and Sweet Potatoes? She said she did not know but that we were making *sweet potato* pie.

    • @beckyecklund5252
      @beckyecklund5252 Před 2 lety +3

      I love sweet potato pie

    • @duellingscarguevara
      @duellingscarguevara Před 2 lety +1

      My parents called butternut pumpkin, grammar pie (knew we would screw our noses up at pumpkin pie?). Beautiful with ice cream.
      Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Just like gramma used to bake.

    • @joantrotter3005
      @joantrotter3005 Před 2 lety +7

      Sweet potatoes were called yams because they resemble yams, but actual yams are bigger, dryer, and not sweet. I bought one once and it wasn't even as sweet as regular white potatoes! Apparently we watch the same videos ☺.

    • @marcomalo02
      @marcomalo02 Před 2 lety +1

      Great in a cobbler.

    • @marlindapeacock2130
      @marlindapeacock2130 Před 2 lety +1

      yams are the ones that are more orange and sweet potatoes are yellow inside

  • @blazko1908
    @blazko1908 Před 2 lety +5

    Love this channel, and I learn so much that I didn’t know before. Thank you.

  • @SuperMeethead
    @SuperMeethead Před 2 lety +12

    There's just something about the thumbnail with Henry the 8th eighth and a potato near him that did it for me

    • @lazer2365
      @lazer2365 Před 2 lety

      Looking at him, it's doubtful there's anything he didn't eat.

  • @marydonohoe8200
    @marydonohoe8200 Před 2 lety +4

    Great work, man. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you!

  • @alyssabrianlaube6935
    @alyssabrianlaube6935 Před 2 lety +7

    Fantastic content, keep this kind of thing coming!

  • @bilbodabbins8273
    @bilbodabbins8273 Před 2 lety +20

    Fire of Learning, your videos are as great as ever. In fact, I think your presenting abilities have increased with every new video you bring to our eyes and ears. I just have one point I'd like to share with you: Your mic volume is too quiet! I have to turn my volume up to 100%, and even then, I need to make sure my listening environment is as quiet as possible to catch all your voice. Could you compress your audio some more? Or add gain to your mic somehow? I remember a few weeks ago you posted about acquiring a new mic. For what it's worth, the sharpness of sound is fantastic - It's just the commentary is being robbed to an extent because the volume is not as loud as I think it should be. All the best! Loving your series on fruits, and loved your Christmas doc! Be well and enjoy these darkest months of winter. Godspeed.
    Edit: Just for yucks, I plugged in my headphones, and I can hear you loud and clear. But out of my speaker laptops, the volume is super quiet. Curious. Other youtube videos out my laptop's speakers are certainly louder than this, but with headphones, I am at 40% and I can hear loudly and clearly. Not sure if this insight is of any value, but I just wanted to make you aware. Take care.

    • @Fireoflearning
      @Fireoflearning  Před 2 lety +9

      Thank you! I'll try to turn it up next time

    • @timl.b.2095
      @timl.b.2095 Před 2 lety +4

      Same here. I came down into the comments after only 10 seconds to see if others had the same problem.

    • @bilbodabbins8273
      @bilbodabbins8273 Před 2 lety +3

      @@Fireoflearning All the best!

    • @jammy7915
      @jammy7915 Před 2 lety +1

      Had to crank my headphones up all the way to have it at conversation volume. Otherwise, fantastic and fascinating video!

  • @TheMaximus60
    @TheMaximus60 Před 2 lety +14

    Here in Mexico the sweet potato or how we calling it Camote is a awesome pastry cooked with Piloncillo(solid fructose).

    • @eduardowhiteknight6110
      @eduardowhiteknight6110 Před 2 lety +1

      My mom made that and I love it I added a little milk to my cup

    • @HarborLockRoad
      @HarborLockRoad Před 2 lety

      Yes, the Jamaican version of pinchos has a yellowy sweet potato flour crust.

  • @donwaltman4276
    @donwaltman4276 Před 2 lety

    It's so hard to find information that is presented in a way that you have to watch it because it is so interesting. Well done lad,well done, I had to subscribe so that I would not miss out on anything.

  • @VideoSaySo
    @VideoSaySo Před 2 lety +58

    I LOVE(d) sweet potatoes! When my dog was still alive I would bake a couple of them and we would sit there together and eat them like monkeys peeling and eating bananas. I haven't had one since she passed...They probably won't taste the same ever again.

    • @monstermcboo7282
      @monstermcboo7282 Před 2 lety +3

      I’m sorry you lost your puppy girl. ❤️

    • @VideoSaySo
      @VideoSaySo Před 2 lety +3

      @@monstermcboo7282 Thanks 💙 Looking at your username...That's what I called my baby...Boo....

    • @monstermcboo7282
      @monstermcboo7282 Před 2 lety +3

      Aww. Monster McBoo is the nickname of my youngest son from when he was a baby/toddler. Boo is a good name for a super cutie. ❤️

    • @VideoSaySo
      @VideoSaySo Před 2 lety +2

      @@monstermcboo7282 I have a few videos of her up on my channel...the grass is grown over the spots she used to roll in now. She's been gone since June, but I still cry over losing her every day. I'll never get over it I don't suppose...

    • @monstermcboo7282
      @monstermcboo7282 Před 2 lety +2

      Dogs are the best people. I don’t know if any of us can ever deserve them.

  • @unclecharlie9022
    @unclecharlie9022 Před 2 lety +3

    Sweet potatoes are commonly seen for sale on the side of the road here in south Ga, I plan to grow some this coming season among other things.

  • @theauthor8901
    @theauthor8901 Před 2 lety

    Thanks, it was very sweet of you to make this video.

  • @voidgeometry794
    @voidgeometry794 Před 2 lety

    This is a great idea for a series. Thanks for the great work.

  • @michaeltelson9798
    @michaeltelson9798 Před 2 lety +16

    It is also believed that chickens were brought to the Americas by the Polynesians. Certain breeds found in the Americas are more related to those that the Polynesians had.

    • @my_other_side473
      @my_other_side473 Před 2 lety +4

      Chicken are Native to Southeast Asia, since Polynesians are a sub group of Austronesians who are native to Southeast Asia. Yes they might brought chicken with them.

    • @KiwiCatherineJemma
      @KiwiCatherineJemma Před 2 lety +1

      @@my_other_side473 Good point ! MY understanding is that our standard domestic chicken ("Gallus gallus domesticus") is most closely related to original wild "Malaysian Jungle Fowl". Yet we know that by the time of the ancient Romans, what we think of as normal chickens were common, and likely dominant throughout Europe and most of the Roman Empire. However "Guinea fowl" ("Numida meleagris"?) are native to North Africa, and you'd think they'd be a more likely candidate for domestication. Even domesticated Guinea Fowl nowadays are still a semi-wild bird that can fly far better than a standard chook, and will gladly nest high up in trees. They're close enough to chickens in DNA that they they can crossbreed once, but the offspring is sterile like a horseXdonkey =mule. Given that North Africa is just a small boat ride across the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe, I'm surprised that somehow, our standard European domestic chicken, came from domesticated Malaysia birds and NOT domesticated North Africa types. Years back I had a variety of poultry. Newly hatched Guinea Fowl are covered in striped fluff and look like tiny winged tigers !

  • @nunyabiznes33
    @nunyabiznes33 Před 2 lety +22

    Would you make a video about plants Austronesian travelers brought with them from Southeast Asia that became their staples when they became Polynesians? Like "yam" (Discorea) and Pandanus, as well as breadnut that they domesticated into breadfruit.

  • @danielbaumgartner575
    @danielbaumgartner575 Před rokem

    Such a nice channel!! I love everything about it!!!! :D

  • @elizabethdavis1696
    @elizabethdavis1696 Před 2 lety +7

    Do some videos on history of flowers like roses, wisteria and lilacs please

  • @4evaavfc
    @4evaavfc Před 2 lety +3

    Good one. We originally grew up with just the purple kumara in NZ, but now the orange variety is popular too. The flesh and taste are quite different.

  • @Numba003
    @Numba003 Před 2 lety +3

    I think it's wonderful that these were called potatoes first! That's just delightful for some reason lol.
    Merry Christmas out there everybody!🎄✝️

  • @lizzies127
    @lizzies127 Před 2 lety +2

    Super informative! Loved it, thanks!

  • @sgmeero
    @sgmeero Před 2 lety

    Thank u for your documentaries...
    It's awesome knowing more about the world around me that I live in..

  • @TheShveyn04
    @TheShveyn04 Před 2 lety +10

    Sweet Potato + Sugar = That's awesome food.

  • @pontiffex
    @pontiffex Před 2 lety +6

    Nice outro lol

  • @christinehedstrom9515
    @christinehedstrom9515 Před 2 lety +1

    Thank you for that, so interesting. And thank you for the last part as it made me giggle 😄

  • @Jez.Von.Franco
    @Jez.Von.Franco Před 2 lety +1

    Very interesting vid, thanks n have a merry Christmas

  • @danielovercash1093
    @danielovercash1093 Před 2 lety +10

    Oh wow I have wild sweet potato Vines in my backyard. They look like morning glory vines but never flower and have tiny potato things on the vine

    • @MUtley-rf8vg
      @MUtley-rf8vg Před 2 lety +1

      From what I understand sweet potatoes essentially are morning glories (with edible tubers). I have several plants going in my apartment now that were started from a sweet potato from the grocery gone feral. The vines all flowered at once and produced these beautiful white flowers with purple stained center.

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 Před 2 lety +1

      That's weird. Ours almost always flower.

    • @b.a.erlebacher1139
      @b.a.erlebacher1139 Před 2 lety +1

      What you have may be a true yam (Dioscoria sp.), unrelated to both potatoes and sweet potatoes. I've heard this plant referred to as an 'air potato'! English use of 'potato' for just about any root vegetable that doesn't have all its leaves emerging from the top of the root, no matter how unrelated, is the source of unlimited confusion! And calling some sweet potato types 'yams' doesn't help either!

  • @kdegraa
    @kdegraa Před 2 lety +10

    Great video. Thanks for researching & presenting this. The story of horticulture is the story of humanity.
    One issue though, the volume level is quite low.

    • @topixfromthetropix1674
      @topixfromthetropix1674 Před 2 lety +1

      I see people make that comment from time to time. They never say if they're using a laptop, desktop, cell phone, or other. They never mention what their internet provider is or what type router is in use. I have over 325 you tube videos and when you record the camera and the editing software will get the audio level as strong as possible without going into distortion. I'm viewing this on a iMac 21.5" screen desktop in Thailand and I'm actually running my master audio level at one half. I am. using only the internal Mac speakers, no pre-amps, no subs. The only person who ever responded to my inquiry learned his phone had gone into a power saving mode and when he made his "audio too low," comment.

  • @njm3211
    @njm3211 Před 2 lety +2

    Amazing and informative. I've got some planted in my garden in southern Italy.

  • @KRAFT4Prez
    @KRAFT4Prez Před 2 lety +1

    I've never subscribed to a channel I'd never heard of faster. 54 seconds it took.

  • @hylacinerea970
    @hylacinerea970 Před 2 lety +9

    best moment of my life was eating (what i think) was a cassava yam with my mother, and we were confused for more than a year before i realized it wasn’t a potato

  • @davidwarland2680
    @davidwarland2680 Před 2 lety +3

    well done, brilliant, well researched and presented

  • @bentationfunkiloglio
    @bentationfunkiloglio Před rokem

    Love the narration! Great topic!

  • @Smith.S.E.
    @Smith.S.E. Před 2 lety

    Ok, fine, I will subscribe after that fine reading of historical texts at the end. Beautiful work champ

  • @ronmaximilian6953
    @ronmaximilian6953 Před 2 lety +15

    The potato and tomato are quite closely related. In fact, potato berries look like unripened cherry tomatoes. Of course, eating, it probably won't kill you, but you won't like it and will like less what happens after.

    • @BFDT-4
      @BFDT-4 Před 2 lety +1

      Brilliant description! ;)

    • @lindamh9657
      @lindamh9657 Před 2 lety

      Sorry about your dog. But sweet potatoes are great tasting, you should have some to remind you of all the good memories you had with your pet.

    • @ronmaximilian6953
      @ronmaximilian6953 Před 2 lety

      @@lindamh9657 I don't have a dog

    • @jay90374
      @jay90374 Před 2 lety

      Yes, a friend grafted a tomato onto a potato and had food from both ends, he called it a pomato!

  • @BRK13
    @BRK13 Před 2 lety +7

    The most strange fact that I saw in this video is that sweet potatoes are orange (wherever the owner of the channel lives). Here in Brazil, they are pink outside and white-ish inside!

    • @maxdecphoenix
      @maxdecphoenix Před 2 lety

      i've never eatten a sweet potato that isn't orange.

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 Před 2 lety +1

      I've seen some that are dark purple on the inside
      However the white-inside ones are clearly superior tastewise

    • @stephenlitten1789
      @stephenlitten1789 Před 2 lety +2

      Here in New Zealand there are three popular varieties: purple-red skin white flesh, white skin yellow flesh, and orange skin orange flesh. The purple -red ones are the best tasting.

    • @urizen7613
      @urizen7613 Před 2 lety

      @@stephenlitten1789 I don't think I've seen the white skinned yellow fleshed ones. I wonder if they may be a North Island thing.

    • @stephenlitten1789
      @stephenlitten1789 Před 2 lety +1

      @@urizen7613 The flesh is creamy white before cooking, but turns yellow om roasting. They're not bad.

  • @LackofAmbition
    @LackofAmbition Před 2 lety +2

    This was incredibly interesting. And thanks for the lyrics at the end! ❤️😂

  • @14thlordofdecay15
    @14thlordofdecay15 Před 2 lety +1

    As always great stuff. Thank you.

  • @skuruhai001
    @skuruhai001 Před 2 lety +21

    i found it really interesting that in my native language (czech) the sweet potatoe is called 'batát' which is somewhat similiar to its original name rather than 'sweet potatoe' as its know mostly across the western world

    • @jonpirovsky
      @jonpirovsky Před 2 lety +1

      In portuguese it is known as batata

    • @sherryherran8546
      @sherryherran8546 Před 2 lety +1

      In Spanish can be batata or in parts of South America camote.

    • @CorePathway
      @CorePathway Před 2 lety

      @@jonpirovsky You say batata I say potato

    • @user-lm9kq
      @user-lm9kq Před 2 lety

      In the regions where sweet potato was originated it’s actually called camote. Coming from the nahuat name camotli. Instead of batat like the spanish called it

    • @joywebster2678
      @joywebster2678 Před 2 lety

      I just know yams and sweet potatoes taste different when just cooked. Love yams. Sweet potato in baking things and casseroles is good, but yams which I grew up in Canada calling sweet potatoes are more flavourful. So this interchangeable terminology confuses me when people talk about recipes. This video differentiated well.

  • @iangomez7190
    @iangomez7190 Před 2 lety +4

    I literally needed this video in my life

  • @moshe4yeshua
    @moshe4yeshua Před 2 lety +2

    I appreciated and enjoyed the content, and have therefore subscribed. I only wish the audio was louder.

  • @jlaurie9252
    @jlaurie9252 Před 2 lety

    This is very interesting 🤔 This has been a well taught class!!! I love myself some sweet potatoes. Thanks for sharing!

  • @dickarmstrong7885
    @dickarmstrong7885 Před 2 lety +4

    Thanks for posting this. I studied up on the subject and have had people try to insist that yams are a separate species: They are not.

    • @CJ-hz1uj
      @CJ-hz1uj Před 2 lety +1

      Maybe the yams being referred to are a separate species from sweet potatoes (genus Ipomoea) if they are the yams (genus Dioscorea) from Africa.

  • @nickpaine
    @nickpaine Před 2 lety +3

    You're saying sweet potatoes played an important role in history? Yes I yam. Amazing

  • @drazirahcLoL
    @drazirahcLoL Před 2 lety +1

    never watched this channel before. 11:48 hit my psyche like a freight train

  • @1kozmoz
    @1kozmoz Před 2 lety +1

    I found this very interesting and educational, thank you.

  • @TheNewMediaoftheDawn
    @TheNewMediaoftheDawn Před 2 lety +3

    Cool vid man! I just bought a 10lb bag for 4 Canadian dollars…. Incidentally, they have been growing more and more short season varieties in my home province of Ontario lately, the last 10-20 yrs. I’ve even seen some tubers grown in the far north. They are becoming more popular to us northerns, although they grow better in the south.

  • @fosterhart2013
    @fosterhart2013 Před 2 lety +10

    Work for a Produce co. I've sampled and tried to research many sweet potatoes ,(camotes the Mexican people call them) I see come in. The Japanese version (red skin,white flesh) came from the Americas but were lost to time and now reintroduced . .It is truly my favorite .like a total different experience. Also there are Hawaiian sweet potatoes .Also very different ! Not sure about their history or origin .

    • @topixfromthetropix1674
      @topixfromthetropix1674 Před 2 lety +1

      When I was a kid, we caught and sold poisonous snakes to a university to make anti-venom. Coral snakes paid about $42 per inch and we would go to Kroger distribution warehouses and check the recently delivered banana crates, best place to find Coral snakes in the southeast.

  • @broboss9530
    @broboss9530 Před 2 lety

    This is dope af,thank you for taking time to research.

  • @millicentmeade3291
    @millicentmeade3291 Před 2 lety +2

    love the new channel! not to teachy but I feel I've learned something really interesting

  • @stephenfitzgerald8779
    @stephenfitzgerald8779 Před 2 lety +4

    All I know is that they are all delicious! Great video.

  • @dr.floridaman4805
    @dr.floridaman4805 Před 2 lety +9

    winged yams are invasive species in florida. they taste good and make a great flour.

    • @cristiewentz8586
      @cristiewentz8586 Před 2 lety

      I found those in a catalog. AKA Cinnamon vine? Dark red flowers said to have a cinnamon scent. Also called Chinese Yam....

  • @mrs.albertcamus7930
    @mrs.albertcamus7930 Před 2 lety +2

    I'm from South Africa & I'm Zulu, we call sweet potatoes "Bhatata", I had nooooo idea its a native american name WTF!!!! We learn everyday.

  • @pullt
    @pullt Před 2 lety +1

    Best sweet potato documentary I've ever watched.

  • @GeraldM_inNC
    @GeraldM_inNC Před 2 lety +44

    Unless I missed it, he failed to mention a key point. True yams were a staple of the diet in Africa, and when the slaves were brought to the new world they discovered sweet potatoes and substituted them for true yams in their cuisine -- which is why he mistakenly use "yams" and "sweet potatoes" as interchangeable terms. It was the slaves' fondness for these yam-substitutes that led to their close association with the American South.

  • @billpetersen298
    @billpetersen298 Před 2 lety +6

    The Polynesians started in Taiwan? That’s amazing.
    Remarkable geopolitics, they went south, not west.

  • @blorac9869
    @blorac9869 Před 2 lety +1

    Enjoyed very much! Thank You!

  • @bobbymoss6160
    @bobbymoss6160 Před 2 lety

    I finally sub because your fruits and veggies stories are so fascinating.

  • @tjens09
    @tjens09 Před 2 lety +24

    The Polynesians brought the forebearers of the Araucana chicken to South America and took the sweet potato back with them.
    Seriously, look into the history of the Araucana chicken. Maybe a future video?

    • @billweirdo9657
      @billweirdo9657 Před 2 lety +4

      Amazing breed. I had some.

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 Před 2 lety +6

      Blue eggs are coolest eggs

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 Před 2 lety +5

      That could have been the only way it seem since chickens ancestors came from Southeast Asia and southern China. There's no way they would have reached South America without help from humans.

    • @billweirdo9657
      @billweirdo9657 Před 2 lety +1

      @@nunyabiznes33 the " jungle fowl" of India is where all other chickens come from.

    • @fifealganaraz7466
      @fifealganaraz7466 Před 2 lety

      @@nunyabiznes33 Humans arrived South America walking from Mongoly some 15 to 20.000 years ago

  • @westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006

    The casual mention that sweet potatoes made it to Europe before potatoes with an "of course" knocked me flat.

  • @impressions9558
    @impressions9558 Před 2 lety +2

    Sweet potatoes being a staple food for me, I just had to see it. Beautiful!

  • @Joyride37
    @Joyride37 Před 2 lety +19

    As a Caribeña with Taino ancestry “Simple, unremarkable orange potato” made me balk. But I stuck it out 😁
    all hail la batata
    Also fun fact. I lived in South Korea for a bit and noticed that locals called batatas as Yams instead of sweet potatos. No end of confusion trying to figure that out on top of the language barrier

    • @ANTSEMUT1
      @ANTSEMUT1 Před 2 lety +1

      You can blame the Portuguese for the confusion of various unrelated root vegetables being called yams in many countries.

  • @chazsaw
    @chazsaw Před 2 lety +10

    I had never heard of African yams before, but have known for a long time that what Americans call yams we in NZ call (golden) kumara*, (which by the way is pronounced something like koo-ma-ra here, rather than koo-mara). What we call yams here are the South American oca. I have also heard New Zealanders refer to taro as yam (not yams), but I think they might be even more wrong than everything else that's going on here :P
    *We have many varieties of kumara in NZ, and I highly doubt our golden breed is the same as American yams, but they are pretty similar to my perception. The two most common varieties found in our supermarkets are usually just referred to as golden or purple - I wish I knew the Maori names for the breeds, I should try and look that up sometime - I have also had American breeds of (non-golden) sweet potato, which occasionally pop up in our produce isles as well. I find them to be firmer, smaller, and less sweet than what I am used to.

    • @Bacopa68
      @Bacopa68 Před 2 lety

      Actual yams are A West African plant of the genus Dioscorea. They are cultivated to a small extent in the Southern US and Caribbean and are somewhat available in parts of the US. The word "yam" became applied by slaves of West African origin to the more easily cultivated sweet potato because it served the same functional role in their diet. The word "yam" entered the speech of Southern whites and was used in the early 20th century to market canned sweet potatoes to areas of the northern US as an exotic food.
      It's pretty wild some of y'all call taro root "yam". Taro is a rarity in US grocery stores. Actual African yams are more common by far. I wonder, did some of the people who settled NZ use the word "yam" to mean "starchy root" and subsequently apply that word to taro?

  • @michaelpaparelli3227
    @michaelpaparelli3227 Před 2 lety +1

    WONDERFUL presentation. I love me some sweet potatoes! Pies,fries and plain with REAL butter and cinnamon.

  • @jokeaton
    @jokeaton Před 2 lety

    Fantastic.. And I love the humor 😄

  • @GeckoHiker
    @GeckoHiker Před 2 lety +4

    I'm not fond of sweet potatoes, especially in dessert form, but they are ok when roasted or cooked in a coconut curry. I try to eat them once a week because they are colorful and look nice on a bed of collard greens.

  • @Mason58654
    @Mason58654 Před 2 lety +4

    I’m having sweet potatoes 🍠 with my dinner 🥘 tonight!

  • @laureeeent
    @laureeeent Před 2 lety

    Great informative video! Thanks

  • @you-know-who9023
    @you-know-who9023 Před 2 lety

    Fascinating I could say more but it would not add to how interesting and educational this video was 👍🙋😀

  • @stanleysvec8692
    @stanleysvec8692 Před 2 lety +4

    Excellent as usual. I wish you had explored the "natural" diffusion theory a little although you may not believe it yourself, and beyond that consider that the spread may not have been simply the Polynesians moving East but a combination of South American Indigenous peoples moving West toward Easter Island and beyond, and bumping up against the waves of Polynesians coming the other way. This has been proposed since the 1950's (but it doesn't need the Heyerdahl "Red-Headed Supermen" angle.