Yam Friday
Greetings brothers and sisters of Steemchurch according to the planning of Our brother @abiye, today is Friday of Yam so let us know a little more about.
The yam is a rare tuber on our table but it can mean a source of quality hydrates as well as other beneficial nutrients, so today we tell you all about the yam: its properties, benefits and possible uses in the kitchen.
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Yam Characteristics
As we mentioned, Yam is the name given to the tubers of several Dioscorea. These plants are native to the hot and humid areas of Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands. The main species that are grown are:
Dioscorea alata
It is the purple yam, and it is grown in the Far East. Although the production is smaller, it is the most sought after, and is that the tubers have pigmenos that give them purple or violet color. These are about 30cm long, are globose and have thin, yellowish bark. The leaves are up to 25cm long, are opposite and usually alternate in young plants.
Dioscorea bulbifera
This is a species that can become invasive in hot climates. It is known as "aerial potato". The tubers have a rounded shape, about the size of a tennis ball. Its leaves are up to 20cm long, and are opposite.
Dioscorea cayennensis
It is a native yam from Africa. The tubers have a cylindrical shape, dense texture and a length of 20-25cm. The rotundata subspecies, also called Dioscorea rotundata, is the white yam. It is one of the most important, since it can be kept for several days without spoiling.
Dioscorea dumetorum
It's the bitter yam. It is not grown much because of its flavor. He is originally from Africa. Its tubers measure about 20cm long and its leaves 15cm long by 9cm wide.
Dioscorea esculenta
It is the common yam, since its flavor is considered to be one of the best. It has been cultivated for several thousand years in Asia. The tubers are about 20-25cm long and have a sweet taste. The leaves are large, up to 20cm long, and are opposite.
Dioscorea oppositifolia
It is a native yam from China, also cultivated in Japan. The tuber is smaller than that of other species, but much more resistant to cold. This one can measure up to 20cm long. Its leaves are large, up to 30cm long.
Dioscorea trifida
It is a yam whose origin is found in tropical America, specifically the Caribbean and Central America. It is known by the names of white yam, mapuey, yampi or air potato, among others. The tubers are long, measuring up to 30cm. The leaves are simple, alternate, and measure up to 15cm.
Cultivation or care
If you want to have a Dioscorea plant, follow our advice:
Location
If you are going to have it outside, it will grow better in semi-shade, but if you are going indoors, put it in a room where lots of light comes in.
Irrigation
It must be frequent. 3 to 4 times a week in summer, and 1 to 2 per week the rest of the year.
Transplant
Whether you want to have it in the garden or in a pot, you can transplant it in the spring.
What soil do you need?
In the case you want to have it in the garden, it is important that the soil has good drainage, so it has a tendency to compact. It is highly recommended that you make a hole of about 50-70cm, and place two blocks, one on top of the other, and fill them with sandy substrate, or with a mixture of garden soil with pomice, akadama or similar.
What substrate do you need?
In case you want to have them in a pot, it is advisable to use porous substrates.
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As it is a plant whose tubers are edible, it must be fertilized with organic fertilizers, such as guano, earthworm humus or manure. In the case that we have it in a pot, we will pay it with liquid fertilizers, but if it is on the ground we can throw it a 2-3 cm layer around once a month.
Multiplication
You can cut the stems and plant them in pots with porous substrates at the end of spring, or separate the tubers at the beginning of the mentioned season.
Rusticity
Most species do not tolerate the cold, but if you choose to plant a Dioscorea oppositifolia, the Chinese yam, you can have outside in areas that have winters with frosts of up to -5ºC.
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The properties of yam
Like other tubers such as sweet potato, potato or cassava, yam is rich in carbohydrates, mainly in starch in amounts greater than 70% and fiber in proportions exceeding 8 grams per 100 grams of food, which slows down your digestion and reduces your glycemic index.
Also, the yam is a tuber rich in proteins compared to others, because it has about 12% of this nutrient which also makes it very satisfying.
It is rich in quality micronutrients including calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium, as well as certain antioxidants that can also help the body's health.
Regarding its physical properties, starch and yam flour are stable in high temperature suspensions and have gelling properties as well as thickeners.
Benefits of yam
Being a concentrate in carbohydrates, the yam is considered an energy food but not high glycemic index given its richness in fiber and vegetable proteins, so it can be a good food for athletes, as well as to include with other vegetables in diabetic preparations.
In addition, it provides satiety and this together with its high proportion of starch and its low cost makes it a subsistence crop according to the FAO.
Because of its richness in fiber, resistant starch and antioxidants, yam has also been linked in studies conducted with rodents at lower risk of high blood triglycerides as well as diseases due to lipid oxidation such as atherosclerosis.
And we must not forget that from this tuber we can extract flour and starch without gluten, ideal to diversify the diet of people with celiac disease.
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Benefits For Our Health.
Depurative
First of all we must emphasize its depurative power of blood. This food has always been used, and in particular its essence, as a powerful elixir when it comes to purifying the body of impurities that cause diseases. The yam contains a series of substances that will help us eliminate toxins from the body through urine, sweat or feces among other means, getting our body to be in perfect condition.
Strengthens defenses
The yam is a help when it comes to getting strong defenses in the body. Among its properties we will highlight its immunological qualities that will help us to strengthen the body's lymphatic system. The consumption of this food will help us to strengthen the defenses of the organism against the attacks received from the outside. For this reason, it is highly recommended when consuming a stronger organism.
These immunological qualities make yam a highly recommended food in certain ailments. Above all applies its consumption when we suffer skin diseases such as dermatitis, eczema of the skin ... The yam will help us to achieve a greater purification of the body and an increase in defenses, which will cause our own body to face these conditions that both They upset us.
Diuretic
Due to its depurative and diuretic qualities, commented above, yam is a very used food when it comes to ending blood clots produced by bruises, as well as in cases of rheumatism, arthritis, gout ... The yam will help us eliminate excess of accumulated liquid, besides having a series of anti-inflammatory properties that will help us to improve the state of scars and other affections caused by blows, wounds and other accidents.
Ally Of Fertility
Another quality that we are going to highlight about yam concerns only women, and it has always been considered a food that increases fertility because it contains high amounts of phytoestrogens, which directly intervene in the woman's menstrual cycle and in the maintenance of youth in the female reproductive organs. Therefore, its use is highly recommended when you want to gestate a child and especially in menopause, to minimize the effects of it on the woman's body.
How to use yam in the kitchen
Although the yam is a crop that little comes to our hands, we must know that its use in the kitchen can be very similar to other tubers: always cooked we can consume it after a boil, bake or grill or using products derived from the same as your flour or starch.
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In the form of flour or starch it serves as a thickener or gelling agent, replacing, for example, corn starch, while with its flour we can ferment and make a bread suitable for celiacs.
Of course, with yam we can also make other types of dishes such as a stew, soups or chips to eat between meals.
The yam is a noble food, low cost and good properties that will surely be exploited beyond the food industry for its quality.
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