I find it amusing that Louisiana Writer had a whole bunch to say, all of it wrong, btw, on the origin on sweet potatoes and yams and when his little "+" point went away he suddenly had nothing to say.
Well, I've been holding back on this post, for a number of reasons, but mostly because I really was hoping that more people would comment, or at least vote.
Sweet potatoes do come in purple.
They do come in Pink, although it is a shade of the purple. Paya's friend had one at a resturant the other day.
They also come in Orange, Yellow, White, and nearly Brown. (See Wiki: Sweet Potato)
They are not related to the African Yam. African Yams are not currently sold in the USA. People in places other than the United States may have access to both the African Yam and the American Yam, which to me would be confusing, but they don't look alike so it should be okay. Purple sweet potatoes can be found in Asian markets, oddly enough, most easily. It's where I found mine for this holiday.
I've been told they do not taste exactly the same, but the flavors are similar. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I've had orange and yellow sweet potatoes and they taste pretty much the same to me, I can't see the purple ones tasting too much different. Time will tell.
Thanks for participating.