Sweet potato pie is a traditional dessert popular in the Southern United States. It is very similar to pumpkin pie but made with sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. This leads to some confusion over whether sweet potato pie is made from sweet potatoes or yams. So what’s the real story behind sweet potato pie?
What’s the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?
Sweet potatoes and yams are two distinct vegetables that belong to different plant families:
- Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). The most common varieties have orange flesh and skin that ranges from cream to deep orange. They are native to Central and South America.
- Yams belong to the yam family (Dioscoreaceae) and are tuber vegetables native to Africa and Asia. The edible varieties have starchy white flesh and rough brown skin. In the US, the vegetable often labeled as a “yam” is actually a cultivar of sweet potato.
So while sweet potatoes and yams are related and look somewhat similar, they are botanically very different.
What’s used to make sweet potato pie?
Despite the name, sweet potato pie is nearly always made from sweet potatoes, not yams. The filling is made by mashing, pureeing, or shredding cooked sweet potatoes and mixing them with sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Some reasons sweet potatoes are preferred over yams for pie filling:
- Sweet potatoes have a creamy, sweet flavor that complements the spices.
- They have smooth, moist texture when cooked.
- Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes give the filling its trademark golden color.
- Sweet potatoes are much more widely available in American grocery stores.
Yams have a starchier, drier texture and lack sweet potato’s rich flavor. Using yams would result in a pie with a lighter color filling and less sweet, moist taste.
The history behind the name
So why is it called “sweet potato pie” if yams aren’t used? The naming likely originated from the history of sweet potato farming in the US:
- African slaves brought along sweet potato planting traditions when they were brought to work on Southern plantations.
- Sweet potatoes were originally known as “yams” because they resembled the true yam found in Africa. This name stuck for a long time.
- Plantation owners noted slaves would cook the tubers into pie dishes for celebrations. These pies made from “yams” became known as sweet potato pies.
- The vegetable mislabeling continued even after botanists properly classified and differentiated sweet potatoes and yams.
The bottom line is that true yams are rarely found in American cooking. So while the name is misleading, “sweet potato pie” is an accurate description of the dish’s main ingredient.
Exceptions and variations
While sweet potato pie is predominantly made from its namesake vegetable, there are some exceptions:
- Some cooks use a mix of sweet potatoes and pumpkin in the filling as a flavor twist.
- Sweet potato pie can be made with true yams, but it results in a slightly different taste and texture.
- The Garifuna people of Central America have a variant dessert called yam pie that does use true yams.
There are also many variations on spices, crust, and toppings. But the tried and true traditional sweet potato pie has a filling made primarily from – you guessed it – sweet potatoes!
Conclusion
While its name is a bit misleading, traditional sweet potato pie is made almost exclusively with sweet potatoes, not yams. The confusion stems from the vegetables being mistakenly interchangeable for many years. But sweet potatoes have the ideal flavor, texture, and color for the classic version of this beloved Southern dessert.