On Wed, 2 Sep 2020 19:48:17 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

>A few months back the local farm market started to carry Japanese sweet
>potatoes. I never saw them before but had to try one. Damned good!
>
>The way I mostly make them is to peel, slice about 3/8" thick, toss in
>olive oil, season, put them on a small pan in the oven at 350 to 375.
>There are recipes to back them also.
>
>For thr botanically inclinrd
>Dioscorea japonica, known as East Asian mountain yam, yamaimo, or
>Japanese mountain yam, is a type of yam native to Japan, Korea, China,
>Taiwan, and Assam. Dioscorea japonica is used for food. Jinenjo, also
>called the wild yam, is a related variety of Japanese yam that is used
>as an ingredient in soba noodles. Wikipedia
>Scientific name: Dioscorea japonica
>Higher classification: Dioscorea
>Order: Dioscoreales
>Rank: Species

Interesting. The yamaimo that I have had in Japan, often offered as a
hangover cure, is rather gray, viscous, muscilaginous mess that
approximates boiled mature okra run through a blender with the fiber
removed. I wonder if it is a different plant or the alternative
preparation is the explanation?