{
  "id": 304678,
  "title": "What's the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams-304678",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-08T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Yams and sweet potatoes are frequently conflated, with their names occasionally used interchangeably in the United States. Although both vegetables grow underground and share a similar appearance, they are actually two distinct crops, as experts explain to Live Science. The primary distinctions between yams and sweet potatoes lie in their botanical classifications, growth patterns, and nutritional characteristics.",
  "summary": "Here are the main differences between yams and sweet potatoes and how to tell them apart.",
  "key_points": [
    "Yams and sweet potatoes are distinct crops, not interchangeable terms.",
    "Yams belong to Dioscoreaceae family, sweet potatoes to Convolvulaceae.",
    "Yams are starchier, larger, while sweet potatoes are softer, sweeter."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Live Science",
        "title": "What's the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams",
        "published": "2026-08-08T11:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}