[Sca-cooks] Yams was Substitute for Potatoes?

[Terry Decker]

> >On Aug 24, 2009, at 2:40 PM, Terry Decker wrote:
>>
>>>Since the term, yam, appears to be derived from a West African language, 
>>>it's likely that yams came to the attention of Europe as the Portuguese 
>>>expanded along the West African coast and probably were not incorporated 
>>>into the European diet.
>>>
>>>I suspect, but have not verified, that edible yams may not grow well in 
>>>Europe.
>>
>>Good thing I'm not intending to portray a European.
>
> You've rejected Sepharad as a possible home?
>
> I believe that the old world yams are native to subsaharan Africa. I 
> wouldn't think there would have been many Jews there in period, although I 
> suppose traders are possible.
> -- 
> David/Cariadoc

If there were Jews in the Sudan (the subsaharan region, not the country), 
they would likely have been Rahdanite traders.  Unfortunately for that idea, 
what little I've found on them suggests that they were in North Africa, but 
only as part of the trade into the Far East.

Bear