In the United States, many people enjoy eating canned yams. Cut into chunks and packed in a sweet syrup, these delicious tubers are a great addition to a host of meals. Yams are especially popular during the Winter holiday season, when they are often mashed, or baked, topped with marshmallows and melted butter. Although many people think that yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing, technically, they are not. Yams are generally larger, sweeter and moister than sweet potatoes and they are a tropical vegetable grown in South America, Africa and the Caribbean. Sweet potatoes on the other hand, are smaller and less dense, with a thinner skin than yams.
A large percentage of the canned yams consumed by Americans are produced in the United States and China. Most of the canned yams for sale in the US are in actuality sweet potatoes. For marketing purposes, they are labeled as yams, but upon viewing the list of ingredients of several brands of canned yams, they are clearly listed as sweet potatoes, without exception. In this consumer review of three brands of canned yams however, they will be referred to as “yams”.
In an effort to assist the consumer, I have conducted a consumer review of three brands of canned yams, while maintaining a sense of objectivity throughout. The three brands of canned yams under review are.. Bruce’s(R) Cut Canned Yams, Stop & Shop(R) Cut Canned Yams and Sylvia’s Restaurant(R) Specially- Cut Canned Yams. All three brands of yams are packed in a syrup made of the same ingredients. ( Water, corn syrup and sugar.) While the syrup in the Bruce’s and Stop & Shop canned yams tastes similar, Sylvia’s syrup is lighter and tastier.
The size and cut of the Stop & Shop and Bruce’s yams are almost identical, large and cut on the bias, while Sylvia’s are cut smaller. The appearance of each brand of canned yams also varies. The color of Bruce’s Canned Yams is a deep, vivid orange, which fairly exudes healthy doses of Beta Carotene, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. The Stop & Shop Canned Yams are much lighter in color, appearing almost immature. Sylvia’s Canned Yams retain a rich, earthy shade of orange, which seems to suggest they were recently picked and produced. In consistency, all three brands of canned yams were basically the same. Nice and soft, but not too soft. Just the right firmness to be used as is, or to be mashed in a casserole. The quality of all three brands of canned yams is largely the same. No bruises, blemishes, foreign objects or discoloration was evident in any of the reviewed brands.
While all three brands of canned yams are similar in many ways, when it comes to taste, the similarities stop there. For review purposes, all three brands of canned yams were mashed and cooked with equal amounts of butter, salt and pepper, over medium- low heat, until hot. The Bruce’s Canned Yams released the sweetest aroma while cooking and tasted much the same. The flavor, while the sweetest of the three, is still nicely balanced. Not at all tart, pleasant on the tongue, Bruce’s Canned Yams are a very tasty and enjoyable product. These yams don’t need any marshmallows, mashed with butter, salt and pepper, they provide just the right amount of sweetness to accent many meals, particularly Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners. The Stop & Shop Canned Yams, when cooked, did not achieve the same balance of flavors as the Bruce’s variety. Somewhat blander, The Stop & Shop Canned Yams have a fresh flavor that would lend itself well to casseroles, such as the oft- prepared candied yams with marshmallow topping. By no means bad- tasting yams, the Stop & Shop version just does not posess the same robust flavor as the Bruce’s brand.
As the Sylvia’s Restaurant Canned Yams simmered away, a distinctly appetizing aroma wafted across the room. I could almost taste the yams cooking away in the pan, just by inhaling the piquant aroma circulating about. Upon tasting, the Sylvia’s Restaurant Canned Yams immediately rose to the head of the class. With a rich, mildly- tangy flavor that danced upon the tongue, Sylvia’s Restaurant Canned Yams proved themselves to be the tastiest, most flavorful of all three brands of canned yams reviewed. Price- wise, all three brands are fairly inexpensive and within a few cents of each others suggested retail price, thereby making each brand of canned yams reviewed, an economical side- dish suitable for many occasions.
Nutritionally, the Bruce’s yams register at 150 calories and 0 calories from fat per 2 / 3 cup. The Stop & Shop Canned Yams come in at 120 calories and 0 calories from fat per 1 / 2 cup. Sylvia’s Restaurant Canned Yams are 120 calories and 0 calories from fat per 1 / 2 cup. All things considered, each of these brands of canned yams is a good product in its own right. But, after careful reviewing, using several criteria, it is this humble reviewer’s opinion that the Sylvia’s Restaurant(R) brand of canned yams is the best overall product of the three brands of canned yams that were reviewed.
