The Unbelievable History of Sweet Potatoes

[@maxputhoff1436]

"Some say that the sweet potato could have spread by natural, nonhuman means." "Are you suggesting that sweet potatoes migrate?" "It could grip it by the husk." "It's not a question of where he grips it!"

[@jeffroberts3640]

Where'd you get the coconuts then? Lol

[@Qetesh777]

I’m thinking Pangea

[@jaynecampbell4396]

Try bird poop or the like. Geez.....

[@maxputhoff1436]

@@jaynecampbell4396 No, it was clearly sparrows carrying the whole thing over in a rudimentary attempt to start their own agricultural society.

[@thomascovello9781]

I said same thing why am I watching about sweet potato after I watched it 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MagdaleneDivine]

I never thought that I would reach a point in my life where I was watching KZbin videos discussing the history of Sweet Potatoes at 4am

[@MagdaleneDivine]

I am so sorry. I smoked and thought id sleep and instead I won't shut up

[@myamdane6895]

Sounds like the dream tbh

[@KIJIKLIPS]

@@MagdaleneDivine me too man. But I did sleep and it's 12 noon here

[@Thejennyshams]

I got the notification at 1:25 am. It's 1pm here

[@KIJIKLIPS]

@@Thejennyshams 10pm👿👿👿

[@cucummmber]

Iʻm Māori from Aotearoa/New Zealand. My people have oral histories of how some of our ancestors (before coming to New Zealand) traveled East in search of lands to flee political untest. When they arrived to (likely) Chile, they had seen it was already well populated but the people there were friendly and welcoming. An exchange occured, including assisting in some skirmishes, ‘marriages’, sharing of knowledge, and with our ancestors receiving the kūmara (sweet potato), uhi (yam), and such. Those ancestors returned home (at the time, Tahiti) and then the food crops spread across the Pacific through trade and so forth. I was told these stories as a child and it makes me happy to see others hearing about them, albeit through scientific discovery.😊

[@shawndemetrios7899]

Amazing

[@Sybil_Detard]

Cool, thanks for sharing. As an aside, and useful for nothing, of all the ethnicities of the world, I find the male Maori to be the most attractive.

[@BernasLL]

​@@Sybil_Detard If out of nowhere I confessed to a stranger black woman I think people of her ethnicity are hot, wouldn't that be somewhat creepy? Though, as a rule, men take such comments more lightly for a wide number of reasons. It's just something to think about.

[@EthanPerales.]

@@Sybil_Detard not cool dude, in fact kinda creepy

[@Sybil_Detard]

@@BernasLL Ok. Yeah. Let's just say I like men who are tall, dark and handsome. Happy New Year.

[@Fireoflearning]

I'd like to welcome you all to a classic 4 AM Fire of Learning upload.

[@vulture9086]

thats my favorite kind of upload

[@dCash117]

Perfect timing I just got off work

[@TammyJerkChicken]

Awww don’t worry! It was released at 9am for us UK viewers 😉

[@quill444]

​@@TammyJerkChicken Oh _Tickety-Boo!_ Shall we crack open some Mayonnaise? 🍟 🔘 🍠 - j q t -

[@markowen3407]

What was with the Avril lyrics at the end? Be honest

[@garyleibitzke4166]

Glad you mentioned that what are called "yams" in U.S. grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes. I've had a hard time convincing people of that.

[@Fireoflearning]

Yes, I was surprised. I've gotten a number of comments on this video saying "Those aren't sweet potatoes, those are yams."

[@Delgen1951]

some brands of caned sweet potatoes do explane that fact.

[@AndrewMyYouTubeThingsAndStuff]

Sweet...mother...of...god...🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 I believe you but...all my life... ... ... all ... my... friggin... life...

[@mrdudeman29]

Seriously people are convinced there s a difference. I worked at sprouts a few years back and people would always say "I see the yams but do you guys have sweet potatoes" it always made me feel like i was taking crazy pills lol

[@boathousejoed9005]

It's funny,I love sweet potatoes but don't care for Louisiana yams.

[@tjshull98]

you say unbelievable but I'm literally about to trust everything you say without a second thought

[@howtubeable]

Please, learn critical thinking skills.

[@kazumpet720]

@@howtubeable hell no

[@culibarri7]

I know this is a joke, but thats an absolutely a terrible attitude and perspective especially in history

[@joesickler5888]

I don’t know what it is but I believe him, yo!

[@eversostrange6337]

@@joesickler5888 yo, the guy on the couch, is this the history of sweet potatoes?

[@Xiuhcoatl_]

That outro was legendary. Truly a masterpiece of a video.

[@gawkthimm6030]

I liked it too, but I would value an explanation...

[@fishcakes5626]

@@gawkthimm6030 no way, no way 😉

[@EthanPerales.]

@@gawkthimm6030 no explanation

[@billchavez8473]

Too good.

[@JeradGraham]

@@gawkthimm6030 lyrics from Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

[@breathless8075]

For all of us that can't sleep. Thanks 👍😊

[@zenolachance1181]

Could you please do more videos on common fruits and vegetables and their Origins? For some reason I find this subject fascinating! The history of tomato is also interesting!! Another one that's pretty interesting is the history of the cabbage and how it developed into broccoli cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Maybe the history of turnips and rutabagas?

[@nathanadams6648]

As someone who has worked in produce for 25 years. I concur. However I know the origin of most American vegetables. I don't feel like I know their story. Did you know a rutabaga is a cross between turnip and savoy cabbage?

[@zenolachance1181]

@@nathanadams6648 yep and I know that the Macomber turnip it's a cross between a turnip and a radish... a lot of people don't know what a Macomber turnip is, but they are a variety of turnip that was naturally cross-pollinated in Westport Massachusetts and they are extremely extremely protective of the seed. So I went into somebody's garden and stole some seed!

[@nathanadams6648]

@@zenolachance1181 rogue gardeners are my favorite

[@mikiohirata9627]

If he's going to do specials in origins of veges. I wish he'd do research on how modern Japanese farmers transformed so many varieties of veges. and fruit for modern ppl's consumptions. You'll find most seedless fruit were cloned /originated there. How they went after more sweetness, juiciness, softness and everything else you can think of. Oh there are so many varieties of sweet potatoes in Japan and they're nothing like yams which is too squishy with very little flavor of its own (I like simple baked ones I used to get in my native land of Japan) for my taste.

[@nathanadams6648]

@@mikiohirata9627 Yeah the okinawa sweet potato are really goooooood

[@rivertonhigh-v4t]

Small omission: the (white) potato is anatomically a tuber or starch storing vessel, whereas the sweet potato is a root proper, though it too consists mainly of starch. As such, the sweet potato may be slightly more nutritious than the potato.

[@bezzyranx9839]

Much more nutritious you mean!!😌

[@jimmylight4866]

With potatoes you always want to eat ones with more color. Avoid the white potato. All the nutrition has been engineered out of it.

[@grantsmith505]

@@bezzyranx9839 Kumara are alkalizing and have excellent effects on lowering blood pressure and is an insulin mimic. Also a really potent anti mutagenic and anti tumour compound ( stops you getting cancer, slows down cancer development ) The tops, camote, are a really nutritious food also Potato is acidifying, with toxic plants Not even the same ballpark hey

[@Jjohnny642]

@W. Dearth lol that’s a low bar. They are pretty good prepared right, like hot dogs

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

@W. DearthI confess that neither my husband nor myself actually like kumara yet my son-in-law loves it. Mum and dad always claimed it tasted like chestnuts and dad always grew kumara in the garden.

[@crazycain1984]

Growing up, we ate ALOT of sweet potatoes cooked every way you can imagine. Yet all of our friends turn their noses up to & hated them. Cool to see the history of something as basic, yet as important as the sweet potato

[@martinemjt]

Sweet potatoes purée and whole buckwheat is amazing!

[@crazycain1984]

@@martinemjt never had it that way but sounds really good

[@alicecain4851]

My last name is Cain. What made you 🤪?

[@chickensalad3535]

Really? That surprises me. Sweet potatoes are literally sweet vegetables! That's every kids dream!

[@Modaaani]

Wait... Let me imagine. Boiled sweet potato and put in the 🍑 hole of a pig and roasted then eaten. Can you confirm if this imagination was right. 😂😂😂

[@ehrashkae6343]

The sweet potato is also the best option for making alcohol, since it has a natural source of alpha amylase needed for converting starch to sugars. Normal potato's for vodka is a much more complex process.

[@jonathanjones3126]

I have wondered what have humans not tried to turn into alcohol.

[@nunyabiznes33]

@@jonathanjones3126 if it's edible we'll turn it into booze LOL.

[@HarborLockRoad]

Awesome, youve invented " yodka"!!!

[@jasonfaulkner2014]

@@jonathanjones3126 There are many brands of sweet potato vodka on the market. It's also used in Japan to make Shochu.

[@KRAFT4Prez]

I've never subscribed to a channel I'd never heard of faster. 54 seconds it took.

[@paulocruz5834]

Here in Portugal, we still have some traditional cultivares circulating. I think the varieties survived because of the diferent culinary uses. From the big orange peel kind that make great stews to the more slender dark grey peel kind which is very good to roast.

[@riograndedosulball248]

Portugueses também chamam a batata comum de batata inglesa? É irônico como os britânicos chamam ela de batata Irlandesa, e o mundo luso as chama de batatas inglesas hahaha

[@tiagotimoteo4004]

@@riograndedosulball248 Em Portugal chamamos às "sweet potatoes" de batatas doces e às "white popatoes" de apenas batatas.

[@krono5el]

i dont think its a european tradition, i think potatoes and tomatoes were used for thousands of years in the Americas, that might be a tradition and or legacy compared to 100 years of europeans using them.

[@yabugarcia5945]

how is it called in Portugal, in Spain is boniato.

[@bacsacbest]

When it comes to sweet potatoes in the Pacific islands, you might be ineterested to learn about inca Tupac Yupanqui's expedition to Polynesia. He apparently reached Awachumbi (Mangareva island) and Ninachumbi (Easter Island) in the mid XVth century. There are many archeological findings to support this theory as well as cultural elements such as the King Tupa legend in Mangareva, inca style constructions in Rapa Nui and ancient quipus found in the Pacific Islands. Quipus were a method to record information used by the Incas equivalent to writing. Prior to this, there was sporadic commercial contact between western South America and Polynesia. Thor Heyerdahl proved in 1947 that such a voyage was possible using native South American technology.

[@fod1235]

2pac*

[@eleanorcramer7986]

Kon Tiki was the vessel.

[@dan5974]

@@fod1235 ambitionz az a zea ridaz

[@Tripplebeem]

Wasn’t there recent generic sequencing that has suggested that South America was initially populated by Pacific Islanders sailing there rather peoples crossing the ice bridge and coming down to South America?

[@goldstandardsilver555]

Tupac went Polynesia? Is that where he’s been hiding?

[@adambussert3383]

I love this type of information. I’ve traveled Peru and was amazed by the variety of potato’s and vegetables.

[@Realatmx]

I wanna visit peru but its too far from Asia🥺

[@NickVenture1]

These sweet potatoes are growing all over the garden here... And they are nice tasting. Subscribed now to your channel.

[@dariuszenthoefer3758]

Some people spend years trying to perfect the craft of comedy, but you speak the words of a popular 90's song and it's the funniest thing I've heard all week

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

I was not ready for that epic outro

[@rb3872]

A strange outro indeed. The narrator giving his best shot at being poetic?

[@Char......]

@@rb3872 It's an Avril Lavigne song. Lol

[@Tam.I.am.]

My favourite kind of sweet potato has white flesh and purple skin. It tastes like chestnut, and it's dry enough to make fluffy mashes with or to cook in with the rice for a little extra flavour and texture. There's one growing in my living room in a flower pot. Every once in awhile I trim it and add the leaves to whatever I'm cooking, for greens.

[@gregoryferraro7379]

I associated the sweet potato with Polynesia and thought that was where it originated. I am amazed that it actually comes from Central America and that it is evidence that Polynesians had contact with native people of the Americas. Incredible!

[@kennethbennett4618]

60-70% of the produce we eat originated from the new world.

[@Bacopa68]

@@kennethbennett4618 David Hume refuted the idea that human history was eternal by stating that if this were so, earlier extinct civilizations in Europe or Africa would have crossed the Atlantic and contacted extinct civilizations in the Americas and exchanged crops and livestock. The potato would have been known to Europe, maize to Africa, and wheat to the Americas.

[@peter10562]

There's record of the Polynesia and Native Americans coexisting in Americas. It's in the Book of Mormon

[@MelissaThompson432]

I live near a place that was a commune, started by a bunch of mostly urban college students, and they survived a long, somewhat harrowing first winter back in the 70s on sweet potatoes and soybeans, which were the only crops they planted that grew.... They learned fairly quickly how to make tofu. I lived elsewhere at the time, and fortunately did not experience winter party tent living with hundreds of people fueled by beans and sweet taters....

[@stanlindert6332]

The Farm ?

[@CorePathway]

…and LoVe

[@RPknight101]

Probably fueled by drugs as well let’s not forget that shit.

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

@@RPknight101 you make things in your brain right now That are awesome

[@Kiido11]

Fortunate choice of crops, too - carbs for the bulk calories & complete protein from soy. Where was this, by the way?

[@99corncob]

Sweet potatoes were introduced to Japan specifically in response to a famine, just as they were in China. A Japanese noble imported them from China to relieve a long famine and they remain a favorite in Japan today.

[@StickyKeys187]

Interesting how these starchy tubers tend to be adopted in non native places during times of famine. Like the potato plant during the great famine in Ireland.

[@jasonfaulkner2014]

@@StickyKeys187 When you plant a crop outside of its native range, they tend to do well because the pests that evolved alongside them aren't present.

[@drazirahcLoL]

never watched this channel before. 11:48 hit my psyche like a freight train

[@johnbaugh2437]

I love potatoes in my garden. They grow easily and it’s like a treasure hunt when you pull them.

[@robkunkel8833]

5:20 I’ve read that the mango was presented to the Spanish King and Queen at the same time and it was NOT accepted gracefully, like the sweet potato. The Sweet potato travels much better, that’s for sure. On our schooner, it was always safe to keep sweet potatoes & yams on deck in a wet/dry locker. They last a long time in all conditions.

[@AchillesWrath1]

You should read about the history of the pineapple. At one point they were so valuable only the most wealthy people had them and would buy one just to show off at parties.

[@dbmail545]

I want to purchase a freeze dryer. I think boiled, freeze dried sweet potatoes have great potential as a healthy snack food.

[@Bacopa68]

@@AchillesWrath1 In Colonial America the pineapple was so prized as a symbol of wealth and hospitality that gates in walls had cast iron pineapples on the gate posts. They are still pretty common in parts of Virginia and to a lesser extent in Massachusetts.

[@saintluisito]

Mangoes are originally from South East Asia, not from the Americas, and were brought to the west centuries before Christopher Columbus by the Persians and Arabs. If the Spanish brought them to the courts of the kings of Spain, the mangoes must have been coming from the Philippines.

[@topixfromthetropix1674]

One of the early British queens had mangosteen imported from Thailand during their reign. Mangosteen is not like mangos.

[@glennschaub560]

Read the book Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl . Him and his crew built a balsa wood raft and sailed from South America to Tahiti in 1947 . At that time scientists always claimed that the coconuts and sweet potatoes grown there came from ocean currents carrying these to Polynesian islands . They discredited Heyerdahl’s theory that only humans could have brought them to far away islands and places . Heyerdahl proved them wrong by showing that ocean salt water destroyed them in ocean currents . They still discredit him for his hypothesis but those people on these islands said that his ship and how he got there were what their elders always claimed true . And now scientists admit people brought these not ocean currents .

[@andrewsuryali8540]

This is ass-backwards. What the video is saying is that Polynesians (who originated in Asia) managed to sail to South America and back at one point. Thor Heyerdahl's discredited hypothesis was that Polynesians originated in South America. It's discredited because every single evidence from linguistics to genetics to cultural traditions points to an Asian origin. Scientists in Heyerdahl's time already believed that Polynesians managed to reach South America thanks to stuff like sweet potatoes. They just couldn't agree on where the Polynesians themselves came from.

[@Roylamx]

@@andrewsuryali8540 Look into Red haired people of New Zeland, there's so much we don't know.

[@Tera4m]

@@andrewsuryali8540: Migration of the Pacific This is what we’re suppose to believe the #worldsgreatestnavigatorseverperiod!!! backtracked🤦🏽‍♂️ Hawaiians migrated from their ancient homeland of the Haida Gwaii from the northwest of America [Gwaii & Hawaii meaning Homeland] who, bare striking resemblance in cultural ritual to our own Research the Tlingit, their customs, beliefs & way of life. You’ll see how our lifestyle was adapted from their protocols. Knowledge that goes right down to the migration of fish, than birds,, that followed thereafter Whilst the Tahitians & the Rapa Nui brought the Kumara & the Peruperu from their homeland of Peru in South America The Tahitians brought their knowledge of the Stars, Horticulture & Priestly titles,, such as the Tohunga, Kahuna & Tufuga (Prophets/Levitical Priesthood). You see, we’ve been mapping stars since we knew how to manipulate the populace into thinking, we could control them,, think "Apocalypto" That’s how our people knew the constellations before it even became common knowledge to,, average man...

[@Tera4m]

@@andrewsuryali8540: Haida Gwaii - [Kalonakikeke]Alaska Hawaii Havaii - Tahitian Havaiki - Niue, Marquesas,, Hawaiki - Māori Avaiki - Raro-Tongan Savaii - Samoan Savaiki - Tongareva Sawaiki - Fijian Tahitian Mā ohi Hawaiian Māoli Cook Island Māori Māori Māori - Hawaiiki Nui, Hawaiiki Roa, Hawaiiki Pamamao Hawaiian - Kahiki Nui, Kahiki Loa, Kahiki Pamamao Tahitian - Tawhiti Nui, Tawhiti Roa, Tawhiti Pamamao Or in the words of the ancients, an extension from one island, to the next & so forth. Knowing with absolute certainty, that all roads,, lead home. This is the real heritage taught by those who live it & keep it very much "Alive & Well" even today, with Hawaiki Atea being,, the Home of God Father/Homeland of Kanaloa Atea - Marquesas Islands Akea Makea - Aotearoa Vatea - Society Islands Vakea - Wakea - Hawai’i 7 Waka of Migration to Aotearoa, New Zealand Tainui - Aitutaki (Rarotonga) Kurahaupo - Aitiu (Rarotonga) Tokomaru - Mangia (Rarotonga) Te Arawa - Raiatea (Tahiti) Mātaatua - Tahiti Takitimu - Rarotonga Aotea - Mauke (Rarotonga)

[@Tera4m]

@@andrewsuryali8540: Māui: - Te Ika a Maui As legends would have it, many centuries before the great migration to Aotearoa,, two brother [of Ephraim descent] decided to voyage from their homeland of Egypt. As far as stories go, the brothers [after circumnavigating more than half the globe] would find themselves upon the uninhabited Islands of Hawaii. One of the brothers [supposedly ashamed to return home] opted to stay & settle within the islands naming one in particular,, after himself. The brother, not being satisfied by the fish abound,, decided to find fish further abroad. By using nothing other than the blood from his nose as bait, cast his hook deep within the murky depth. Upon the realisation he was not landing a fish but instead fishing a land, reeled the great fish in naming it also after himself,, Te Ika ā Māui...

[@jonathanbarnes3061]

Whoow, talk about breaking misconceptions that was exhaustive. ( check the notes in the description) Sweet potato pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. 🥞 🍁 🇨🇦

[@retrogamermax8287]

Could you cover the history of chocolate as I think that would be a fascinating video to watch.

[@retrogamermax8287]

@@xionmemoria Yes. The Aztec Emperor and Aztec elites was drinking chocolate and was originally attempting to make alcohol even though they fail to do so.

[@TuWear]

@@xionmemoria It was not though, it was often sweetened with Malipona honey and vanilla. Heck, they even knew how to make chocolate foam which is only known in small parts of the Americas.

[@VideoSaySo]

I LOVE(d) sweet potatoes! When my dog was still alive I would bake a couple of them and we would sit there together and eat them like monkeys peeling and eating bananas. I haven't had one since she passed...They probably won't taste the same ever again.

[@monstermcboo7282]

I’m sorry you lost your puppy girl. ❤️

[@VideoSaySo]

@@monstermcboo7282 Thanks 💙 Looking at your username...That's what I called my baby...Boo....

[@monstermcboo7282]

Aww. Monster McBoo is the nickname of my youngest son from when he was a baby/toddler. Boo is a good name for a super cutie. ❤️

[@VideoSaySo]

@@monstermcboo7282 I have a few videos of her up on my channel...the grass is grown over the spots she used to roll in now. She's been gone since June, but I still cry over losing her every day. I'll never get over it I don't suppose...

[@monstermcboo7282]

Dogs are the best people. I don’t know if any of us can ever deserve them.

[@blxvkpxndx]

In Jamaica we call white potatoes 🥔 Irish ☘️ It’s actually kind of funny. When they say boiled Irish, instead of boiled potatoes. As a kid I always thought it was strange, White potatoes were brought from Ireland to Jamaica, sweet potatoes were always there and I guess that’s why they call them potatoes. 🍠

[@anndeecosita3586]

Potato are originally from South America so if they went to Jamaica via Ireland they took the long way around. 😂

[@Bacopa68]

Can you even grow white potatoes to maturity in Jamaica? Maybe in the mountains you can. White potatoes can't be grown to maturity in Gulf Coast of the US.

[@blxvkpxndx]

@@Bacopa68 they’re grown in the higher elevations , the climate is much cooler also they’re grown in the winter.

[@StickyKeys187]

Taro might grow better in your neck of the woods.

[@blxvkpxndx]

@@StickyKeys187 we got them too, we call them dasheen. We boil them and use them in soup.

[@ploptart4649]

Super interesting! Thank you! I also liked your poem at the end. Keep up the good work!

[@HuggieBear39]

Thank you, Mom and I were baking pies and I asked what was the difference between Yams and Sweet Potatoes? She said she did not know but that we were making *sweet potato* pie.

[@beckyecklund5252]

I love sweet potato pie

[@duellingscarguevara]

My parents called butternut pumpkin, grammar pie (knew we would screw our noses up at pumpkin pie?). Beautiful with ice cream. Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Just like gramma used to bake.

[@joantrotter3005]

Sweet potatoes were called yams because they resemble yams, but actual yams are bigger, dryer, and not sweet. I bought one once and it wasn't even as sweet as regular white potatoes! Apparently we watch the same videos ☺.

[@marcomalo02]

Great in a cobbler.

[@marlindapeacock2130]

yams are the ones that are more orange and sweet potatoes are yellow inside

[@bethmarriott9292]

The Māori pronunciation (as a British person having lived in New Zealand most of my life so not a native speaker) of Kūmara is more KOO-mah-ruh with emphasis on the first KOO, but it's really hard to get when you've only seen it written down; a look at more of the Polynesian migration history would be super cool also NGL

[@KIJIKLIPS]

Yes, I agree, Beth *Marriott*

[@clvrswine]

The Māori are new-comers to New Zealand. Only came there 700 years ago, not thousands of years.

[@stephenlitten1789]

@@clvrswine So, they brought kumara (which grew just about everywhere) and taro (which was a real fussy bugger)

[@leonieromanes7265]

@@clvrswine Maori started to explore Aotearoa/New Zealand around 2000 years ago. But didn't start settling there until 1000 to 800 years ago. Archaeologists have found bones of polynesian rats that date back to around the birth of Christ.

[@ANTSEMUT1]

@@leonieromanes7265 on mass anyway, some iwi claim to have stayed the whole 2,000 years and not part of the 80 Waka later migration.

[@bilbodabbins8273]

Fire of Learning, your videos are as great as ever. In fact, I think your presenting abilities have increased with every new video you bring to our eyes and ears. I just have one point I'd like to share with you: Your mic volume is too quiet! I have to turn my volume up to 100%, and even then, I need to make sure my listening environment is as quiet as possible to catch all your voice. Could you compress your audio some more? Or add gain to your mic somehow? I remember a few weeks ago you posted about acquiring a new mic. For what it's worth, the sharpness of sound is fantastic - It's just the commentary is being robbed to an extent because the volume is not as loud as I think it should be. All the best! Loving your series on fruits, and loved your Christmas doc! Be well and enjoy these darkest months of winter. Godspeed. Edit: Just for yucks, I plugged in my headphones, and I can hear you loud and clear. But out of my speaker laptops, the volume is super quiet. Curious. Other youtube videos out my laptop's speakers are certainly louder than this, but with headphones, I am at 40% and I can hear loudly and clearly. Not sure if this insight is of any value, but I just wanted to make you aware. Take care.

[@Fireoflearning]

Thank you! I'll try to turn it up next time

[@timl.b.2095]

Same here. I came down into the comments after only 10 seconds to see if others had the same problem.

[@bilbodabbins8273]

@@Fireoflearning All the best!

[@jammy7915]

Had to crank my headphones up all the way to have it at conversation volume. Otherwise, fantastic and fascinating video!

[@Mark-uh3un]

Perfect timing, I’ve recently started making sweet potatoes instead of regular ones

[@leonieromanes7265]

They are a staple here in New Zealand, we call them Kumara. Kumara are awesome tossed in olive oil, salt and soy or Worcestershire sauce, roasted in the oven.

[@Numba003]

I think it's wonderful that these were called potatoes first! That's just delightful for some reason lol. Merry Christmas out there everybody!🎄✝️

[@4evaavfc]

Good one. We originally grew up with just the purple kumara in NZ, but now the orange variety is popular too. The flesh and taste are quite different.

[@alyssabrianlaube6935]

Fantastic content, keep this kind of thing coming!

[@punkjunk9479]

I love your channel, I've learned about everything from the Spanish Empire to the History of sweet Potatoes! Please don't ever stop making content. You are 100% my favourite history channel.

[@justrosie]

The outro is what convinced me to subscribe

[@michaeltelson9798]

It is also believed that chickens were brought to the Americas by the Polynesians. Certain breeds found in the Americas are more related to those that the Polynesians had.

[@my_other_side473]

Chicken are Native to Southeast Asia, since Polynesians are a sub group of Austronesians who are native to Southeast Asia. Yes they might brought chicken with them.

[@KiwiCatherineJemma]

@@my_other_side473 Good point ! MY understanding is that our standard domestic chicken ("Gallus gallus domesticus") is most closely related to original wild "Malaysian Jungle Fowl". Yet we know that by the time of the ancient Romans, what we think of as normal chickens were common, and likely dominant throughout Europe and most of the Roman Empire. However "Guinea fowl" ("Numida meleagris"?) are native to North Africa, and you'd think they'd be a more likely candidate for domestication. Even domesticated Guinea Fowl nowadays are still a semi-wild bird that can fly far better than a standard chook, and will gladly nest high up in trees. They're close enough to chickens in DNA that they they can crossbreed once, but the offspring is sterile like a horseXdonkey =mule. Given that North Africa is just a small boat ride across the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe, I'm surprised that somehow, our standard European domestic chicken, came from domesticated Malaysia birds and NOT domesticated North Africa types. Years back I had a variety of poultry. Newly hatched Guinea Fowl are covered in striped fluff and look like tiny winged tigers !

[@oddish2253]

4:13 Proof that Filipinos had sweet potatoes before Spanish colonization. In Tagalog potatoes are called Patatas. Sweet potatoes are called Kamote.

[@marydonohoe8200]

Great work, man. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you!

[@nunyabiznes33]

Would you make a video about plants Austronesian travelers brought with them from Southeast Asia that became their staples when they became Polynesians? Like "yam" (Discorea) and Pandanus, as well as breadnut that they domesticated into breadfruit.

[@elizabethdavis1696]

Do some videos on history of flowers like roses, wisteria and lilacs please

[@christinehedstrom9515]

Thank you for that, so interesting. And thank you for the last part as it made me giggle 😄

[@GeraldM_inNC]

Unless I missed it, he failed to mention a key point. True yams were a staple of the diet in Africa, and when the slaves were brought to the new world they discovered sweet potatoes and substituted them for true yams in their cuisine -- which is why he mistakenly use "yams" and "sweet potatoes" as interchangeable terms. It was the slaves' fondness for these yam-substitutes that led to their close association with the American South.

[@sharky7665]

Yeah, he covered that.

[@comedousedinmud44]

@@sharky7665 yea not really

[@Auditor1337]

@@comedousedinmud44 he did

[@patrickdaly311]

At 7:58 in the video he talks about true yams and African origins.

[@dearbonks]

Love them! Versatile to no end, yams (sweet potatoes)are perfect in every way.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

The potato and tomato are quite closely related. In fact, potato berries look like unripened cherry tomatoes. Of course, eating, it probably won't kill you, but you won't like it and will like less what happens after.

[@BFDT-4]

Brilliant description! ;)

[@lindamh9657]

Sorry about your dog. But sweet potatoes are great tasting, you should have some to remind you of all the good memories you had with your pet.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

@@lindamh9657 I don't have a dog

[@jay90374]

Yes, a friend grafted a tomato onto a potato and had food from both ends, he called it a pomato!

[@TheMaximus60]

Here in Mexico the sweet potato or how we calling it Camote is a awesome pastry cooked with Piloncillo(solid fructose).

[@eduardowhiteknight6110]

My mom made that and I love it I added a little milk to my cup

[@HarborLockRoad]

Yes, the Jamaican version of pinchos has a yellowy sweet potato flour crust.

[@kdegraa]

Great video. Thanks for researching & presenting this. The story of horticulture is the story of humanity. One issue though, the volume level is quite low.

[@topixfromthetropix1674]

I see people make that comment from time to time. They never say if they're using a laptop, desktop, cell phone, or other. They never mention what their internet provider is or what type router is in use. I have over 325 you tube videos and when you record the camera and the editing software will get the audio level as strong as possible without going into distortion. I'm viewing this on a iMac 21.5" screen desktop in Thailand and I'm actually running my master audio level at one half. I am. using only the internal Mac speakers, no pre-amps, no subs. The only person who ever responded to my inquiry learned his phone had gone into a power saving mode and when he made his "audio too low," comment.

[@pullt]

Best sweet potato documentary I've ever watched.

[@hylacinerea970]

best moment of my life was eating (what i think) was a cassava yam with my mother, and we were confused for more than a year before i realized it wasn’t a potato

[@Smith.S.E.]

Ok, fine, I will subscribe after that fine reading of historical texts at the end. Beautiful work champ

[@davidwarland2680]

well done, brilliant, well researched and presented

[@theauthor8901]

Thanks, it was very sweet of you to make this video.

[@SuperMeethead]

There's just something about the thumbnail with Henry the 8th eighth and a potato near him that did it for me

[@lazer2365]

Looking at him, it's doubtful there's anything he didn't eat.

[@danidejaneiro8378]

Here in Brazil, "white" potatoes are called _batata inglesa_ - "English potato"

[@nickpaine]

You're saying sweet potatoes played an important role in history? Yes I yam. Amazing

[@michaelpaparelli3227]

WONDERFUL presentation. I love me some sweet potatoes! Pies,fries and plain with REAL butter and cinnamon.

[@iangomez7190]

I literally needed this video in my life

[@njm3211]

Amazing and informative. I've got some planted in my garden in southern Italy.

[@GrimmDelightsDice]

I often find that I only learn one or two new facts in most history videos (I consume... ~6 hours of educational KZbin a day) but I don't think this is something i've ever ever heard of and that's so cool! Thank you!

[@douglassauvageau7262]

FACINATING! Taiwan (Formosa) may be the starting-point for a little-studied and under-appreciated chapter of Human History. Cultivars are a significant element of anthropology that may yet shed further light upon that study.

[@StickyKeys187]

That's why I vouch for the independence of Taiwan. They are their own unique country,and deserve a sovereign status from their next door neighbor.

[@fosterhart2013]

Work for a Produce co. I've sampled and tried to research many sweet potatoes ,(camotes the Mexican people call them) I see come in. The Japanese version (red skin,white flesh) came from the Americas but were lost to time and now reintroduced . .It is truly my favorite .like a total different experience. Also there are Hawaiian sweet potatoes .Also very different ! Not sure about their history or origin .

[@topixfromthetropix1674]

When I was a kid, we caught and sold poisonous snakes to a university to make anti-venom. Coral snakes paid about $42 per inch and we would go to Kroger distribution warehouses and check the recently delivered banana crates, best place to find Coral snakes in the southeast.

[@selenicasa]

You good sir have acquired yet another subscriber 👍

[@TheShveyn04]

Sweet Potato + Sugar = That's awesome food.

[@alxmnslv]

Sweet Sweet Potato

[@AC-ih7jc]

I remember my father recalling being a little Italian immigrant kid just off Houston Street in NYC during the Great Depression and every autumn, seeing the guy with his pushcart selling baked sweet potatoes. Many was the time my mom (Italian, but born here) would cut some sweet potatoes in half the short way, bake them, and then snack on one, eating it like an ice cream cone.

[@dCash117]

Oh wow I have wild sweet potato Vines in my backyard. They look like morning glory vines but never flower and have tiny potato things on the vine

[@MUtley-rf8vg]

From what I understand sweet potatoes essentially are morning glories (with edible tubers). I have several plants going in my apartment now that were started from a sweet potato from the grocery gone feral. The vines all flowered at once and produced these beautiful white flowers with purple stained center.

[@nunyabiznes33]

That's weird. Ours almost always flower.

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

What you have may be a true yam (Dioscoria sp.), unrelated to both potatoes and sweet potatoes. I've heard this plant referred to as an 'air potato'! English use of 'potato' for just about any root vegetable that doesn't have all its leaves emerging from the top of the root, no matter how unrelated, is the source of unlimited confusion! And calling some sweet potato types 'yams' doesn't help either!

[@millicentmeade3291]

love the new channel! not to teachy but I feel I've learned something really interesting

[@BRK13]

The most strange fact that I saw in this video is that sweet potatoes are orange (wherever the owner of the channel lives). Here in Brazil, they are pink outside and white-ish inside!

[@maxdecphoenix]

i've never eatten a sweet potato that isn't orange.

[@riograndedosulball248]

I've seen some that are dark purple on the inside However the white-inside ones are clearly superior tastewise

[@stephenlitten1789]

Here in New Zealand there are three popular varieties: purple-red skin white flesh, white skin yellow flesh, and orange skin orange flesh. The purple -red ones are the best tasting.

[@urizen7613]

@@stephenlitten1789 I don't think I've seen the white skinned yellow fleshed ones. I wonder if they may be a North Island thing.

[@stephenlitten1789]

@@urizen7613 The flesh is creamy white before cooking, but turns yellow om roasting. They're not bad.

[@sgmeero]

Thank u for your documentaries... It's awesome knowing more about the world around me that I live in..

[@Joyride37]

As a Caribeña with Taino ancestry “Simple, unremarkable orange potato” made me balk. But I stuck it out 😁 all hail la batata Also fun fact. I lived in South Korea for a bit and noticed that locals called batatas as Yams instead of sweet potatos. No end of confusion trying to figure that out on top of the language barrier

[@ANTSEMUT1]

You can blame the Portuguese for the confusion of various unrelated root vegetables being called yams in many countries.

[@you-know-who9023]

Fascinating I could say more but it would not add to how interesting and educational this video was 👍🙋😀

[@skuruhai001]

i found it really interesting that in my native language (czech) the sweet potatoe is called 'batát' which is somewhat similiar to its original name rather than 'sweet potatoe' as its know mostly across the western world

[@jonpirovsky]

In portuguese it is known as batata

[@sherryherran8546]

In Spanish can be batata or in parts of South America camote.

[@CorePathway]

@@jonpirovsky You say batata I say potato

[@user-lm9kq]

In the regions where sweet potato was originated it’s actually called camote. Coming from the nahuat name camotli. Instead of batat like the spanish called it

[@joywebster2678]

I just know yams and sweet potatoes taste different when just cooked. Love yams. Sweet potato in baking things and casseroles is good, but yams which I grew up in Canada calling sweet potatoes are more flavourful. So this interchangeable terminology confuses me when people talk about recipes. This video differentiated well.

[@bobbymoss6160]

I finally sub because your fruits and veggies stories are so fascinating.

[@TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

Cool vid man! I just bought a 10lb bag for 4 Canadian dollars…. Incidentally, they have been growing more and more short season varieties in my home province of Ontario lately, the last 10-20 yrs. I’ve even seen some tubers grown in the far north. They are becoming more popular to us northerns, although they grow better in the south.

[@LackofAmbition]

This was incredibly interesting. And thanks for the lyrics at the end! ❤️😂

[@tjens09]

The Polynesians brought the forebearers of the Araucana chicken to South America and took the sweet potato back with them. Seriously, look into the history of the Araucana chicken. Maybe a future video?

[@billweirdo9657]

Amazing breed. I had some.

[@riograndedosulball248]

Blue eggs are coolest eggs

[@nunyabiznes33]

That could have been the only way it seem since chickens ancestors came from Southeast Asia and southern China. There's no way they would have reached South America without help from humans.

[@billweirdo9657]

@@nunyabiznes33 the " jungle fowl" of India is where all other chickens come from.

[@fifealganaraz7466]

@@nunyabiznes33 Humans arrived South America walking from Mongoly some 15 to 20.000 years ago

[@lizzies127]

Super informative! Loved it, thanks!

[@chazsaw]

I had never heard of African yams before, but have known for a long time that what Americans call yams we in NZ call (golden) kumara*, (which by the way is pronounced something like koo-ma-ra here, rather than koo-mara). What we call yams here are the South American oca. I have also heard New Zealanders refer to taro as yam (not yams), but I think they might be even more wrong than everything else that's going on here :P *We have many varieties of kumara in NZ, and I highly doubt our golden breed is the same as American yams, but they are pretty similar to my perception. The two most common varieties found in our supermarkets are usually just referred to as golden or purple - I wish I knew the Maori names for the breeds, I should try and look that up sometime - I have also had American breeds of (non-golden) sweet potato, which occasionally pop up in our produce isles as well. I find them to be firmer, smaller, and less sweet than what I am used to.

[@Bacopa68]

Actual yams are A West African plant of the genus Dioscorea. They are cultivated to a small extent in the Southern US and Caribbean and are somewhat available in parts of the US. The word "yam" became applied by slaves of West African origin to the more easily cultivated sweet potato because it served the same functional role in their diet. The word "yam" entered the speech of Southern whites and was used in the early 20th century to market canned sweet potatoes to areas of the northern US as an exotic food. It's pretty wild some of y'all call taro root "yam". Taro is a rarity in US grocery stores. Actual African yams are more common by far. I wonder, did some of the people who settled NZ use the word "yam" to mean "starchy root" and subsequently apply that word to taro?

[@Th3RussBus]

2am and Im awake catching up on Sweet Potato lore.

[@mrs.albertcamus7930]

I'm from South Africa & I'm Zulu, we call sweet potatoes "Bhatata", I had nooooo idea its a native american name WTF!!!! We learn everyday.

[@cccmmm1234]

Sweet potatoes were brought to Southern Africa by the Portuguese along with maize, beans and pumpkins. They spread from Mozambique to Zulu and Xhosa areas. The Portuguese kept the old name patat/batat and passed it on. When I lived in SA one of my favorite foods was buying sweet potatoes from amaPondo and cooking them in fires on the beach.

[@lisahoshowsky4251]

I went to start cooking dinner and was looking for a video to watch while doing so. This won, I’m making sweet potato fries and now I get to learn about them!

[@dickarmstrong7885]

Thanks for posting this. I studied up on the subject and have had people try to insist that yams are a separate species: They are not.

[@CJ-hz1uj]

Maybe the yams being referred to are a separate species from sweet potatoes (genus Ipomoea) if they are the yams (genus Dioscorea) from Africa.

[@danielbaumgartner575]

Such a nice channel!! I love everything about it!!!! :D

[@stephenfitzgerald8779]

All I know is that they are all delicious! Great video.

[@eclectic2327]

i love the food videos, i watch your videos when i’m anxious or about to have a panic attack because it distracts my mind

[@Fireoflearning]

Thank you!

[@GeckoHiker]

I'm not fond of sweet potatoes, especially in dessert form, but they are ok when roasted or cooked in a coconut curry. I try to eat them once a week because they are colorful and look nice on a bed of collard greens.

[@geoffreyfoster8039]

Sandra: Could you come here and make some for me? Pls!

[@Piscacho4u]

You speak with such a conviction that is hard to deny.

[@dr.floridaman4805]

winged yams are invasive species in florida. they taste good and make a great flour.

[@cristiewentz8586]

I found those in a catalog. AKA Cinnamon vine? Dark red flowers said to have a cinnamon scent. Also called Chinese Yam....

[@broboss9530]

This is dope af,thank you for taking time to research.

[@billpetersen298]

The Polynesians started in Taiwan? That’s amazing. Remarkable geopolitics, they went south, not west.

[@erint5373]

As a Kiwi living in the UK, all I can say is I MISS Kumara!!!! The taste is so much better than sweet potato verieties you find here, which are bigger but have much less depth of flavour. One day, I will have to grow my own!

[@kevinjkelliher]

in New Zealand the Moari not only had sweet potatoes but they also had a number of different cultivars of maize which still exist.

[@mercurywoodrose]

is this true? my mind is blown enough by this video. lets just say it: the polynesians discovered america (for the old world, obiously the first nations "discovere" it, just like african "discovered" eurasia 100,000 years ago,) as they were the first to bring something back from there. landing on an area is just silly western material possession. what matters is cultural transfer. the vikings didnt do that.

[@kevinjkelliher]

@@mercurywoodrose I have a relative who was working at DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research). This is the official government research organisation for New Zealand. Apparently they were doing some breeding work on these varieties. I was around his place one day and he showed me various varieties of Maori maize. Generally they are about half to third the size of normal cultivated maize and often have purple/black kernels as well as yellow ones on their cobs.

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

@@kevinjkelliher That's really fascinating. Do they have strong evidence that the Maori had maize before European contact? Maize is such a fantastically productive crop under suitable conditions that it was widely adopted as a staple to the point where within a few hundred years people believed they'd always had it. East Africa and western China are areas like that. Small cobs and colorful kernels are characteristic of traditional varieties of maize in the northern parts of their traditional North American growing areas.

[@lifeinalaska1282]

Would love to know who the artist is for the 18/19th century painting @ 6:42. Fascinating history ~ thank you.

[@Mr_M_History]

Not jealous of how good this educational channel is or anything!

[@pepecharles24]

in Central America we call sweet potatoes, camote. We make a distinction from camotes and papas.

[@sizanogreen9900]

there is literally a kami/"god" of the sweet potato in japan:)