Wild Potato Or Yam Or What?

[tim armstrong]

We have a very small piece of forest/jungle next to our land near Nakhon Sawan. My wife and mother in law recently came back from some arduous digging with a barrow load of long - some 18", white coloured, thick - maybe 3" diameter, tubers which they called potatoes. I don't know much about wild tropical vegies, but these definitely tasted like potatoes, and were not sweet potatoes either. An internet search was not too clear. Are they yams under another name ? They are quite plentiful, but quite deep in the ground.

[sbk]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

[tim armstrong]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

No not cassava. Now the plot thickens. I've just been told that its attached to a vine that comes out of the ground.

[Gonsalviz]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

No not cassava. Now the plot thickens. I've just been told that its attached to a vine that comes out of the ground.

Well The 'mun" I have seen come from a vine out of the ground but they have not been very big. Perhaps these grew long enough to get big.

[tim armstrong]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

No not cassava. Now the plot thickens. I've just been told that its attached to a vine that comes out of the ground.

Maybe, they do look a bit like the tuber in the photo, and definitely taste the same as a potato. I will go with them next time and take some pics. Thanks all

Well The 'mun" I have seen come from a vine out of the ground but they have not been very big. Perhaps these grew long enough to get big.

[sbk]

Man Gaeo, or yam bean is a vining tuber with flowers. Its crunchy like an apple with a starchier potato taste, they can grow quite big in fact, much, much larger than a baseball.

It sounds as tho your tuber is this one, Its called Jicama in Mexico where its a very popular root vegetable and is very tasty fresh in salads.

[featography]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

No not cassava. Now the plot thickens. I've just been told that its attached to a vine that comes out of the ground.

Well The 'mun" I have seen come from a vine out of the ground but they have not been very big. Perhaps these grew long enough to get big.

the round one is Jicama, the Mexican name for it. It is also the name we western range Americans call it. http://www.foodrefer...tory-facts.html

Im not sure what the longer slender tuber is though and would like to. .......

Wife just informed me that the long tuber looking thing is a variety in the potato family, different from the commonly known thai sweet potato.

Edited November 7, 2010 by featography

[jamescollister]

tuberous rather than round?

So, it wont' be yam bean/Jicama or man gaeo?

Is it Cassava?

No not cassava. Now the plot thickens. I've just been told that its attached to a vine that comes out of the ground.

Well The 'mun" I have seen come from a vine out of the ground but they have not been very big. Perhaps these grew long enough to get big.

the round one is Jicama, the Mexican name for it. It is also the name we western range Americans call it. http://www.foodrefer...tory-facts.html

Im not sure what the longer slender tuber is though and would like to. .......

Wife just informed me that the long tuber looking thing is a variety in the potato family, different from the commonly known thai sweet potato.

Yes sounds like Mun Gaeo come in white, purple and orange. We eat them as chips and for mashed potato. Covered in gravy or viniger can't taste much of a difference. Jim

[Pacificperson]

If they grow from vines that grow up into the trees, then they are probably true yams, which can grow quite large.

yams.bmp

[tim armstrong]

Thanks everyone for the input. The latest news is that the long tuber is called 'mun sow' as in sow - a female pig. It is not 'mun geow' which is another vegetable.

[teletiger]

Something of a coincidence, yesterday Mrs TT brought home a cooked potato/coconut dish. On asking about it I was told it was "goi". (goy) Apparently it's dug up from the wild and not cultivated. Roots quite deep with a vinelike plant. Care must be taken in preparing it, as it can be toxic. In the past it was considered a poor folks mun. Now it costs more than mun. There's progress.

Maybe there's a regional difference here. My wife is a Lanna girl and has heard of "sow", but doesn't know what it looks like. Maybe the same thing as Goi.

Regards.

[tim armstrong]

Something of a coincidence, yesterday Mrs TT brought home a cooked potato/coconut dish. On asking about it I was told it was "goi". (goy) Apparently it's dug up from the wild and not cultivated. Roots quite deep with a vinelike plant. Care must be taken in preparing it, as it can be toxic. In the past it was considered a poor folks mun. Now it costs more than mun. There's progress.

Maybe there's a regional difference here. My wife is a Lanna girl and has heard of "sow", but doesn't know what it looks like. Maybe the same thing as Goi.

Regards.

Definitely sounds like the same thing by a different name. It does taste just the same as a potato, and haven't got sick yet, but thanks for the warning.

[Pacificperson]

I found this on a Japanese web site:

Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae)

Vernacular name:(Thai) man-sao (central), man thu (southern)

Common name: greater yam (English), ten-months yam (English), daisho (Japanese)

Edited November 10, 2010 by Pacificperson

[rice555]

Hello All, this a mun I'm told, with a small one off to the side, and a picture of the

vine. I don't know the name of the little white one.

rice555

[tim armstrong]

I found this on a Japanese web site:

Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae)

Vernacular name:(Thai) man-sao (central), man thu (southern)

Common name: greater yam (English), ten-months yam (English), daisho (Japanese)

Pacific person,

Thanks for the link. I looked at various references and all seemed to be consistent with the description and the local name. So a yam it is! Interestingly its very prolific and can grow to 60kgs! The wife and M.I.L. haven't found this mother lode yet but I await the arrival of the big one. Our patch of jungle is proving interesting. Yesterday a very large and healthy male monkey emerged. First one I've seen in 8 years being here.

[Lumumba]

I found this on a Japanese web site:

Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae)

Vernacular name:(Thai) man-sao (central), man thu (southern)

Common name: greater yam (English), ten-months yam (English), daisho (Japanese)

Pacific person,

Thanks for the link. I looked at various references and all seemed to be consistent with the description and the local name. So a yam it is! Interestingly its very prolific and can grow to 60kgs! The wife and M.I.L. haven't found this mother lode yet but I await the arrival of the big one. Our patch of jungle is proving interesting. Yesterday a very large and healthy male monkey emerged. First one I've seen in 8 years being here.

We do cultivate yam in Africa. what you describe is yam tubers, the vines are a dead give away.

Dont work, you wont be able to eat the ones that would make u sick as it will taste very acidic or caustic, once well cooked you can eat with different types of side dishes.

Is there anyways you can throw a barrow full my way?

[tim armstrong]

I found this on a Japanese web site:

Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae)

Vernacular name:(Thai) man-sao (central), man thu (southern)

Common name: greater yam (English), ten-months yam (English), daisho (Japanese)

Pacific person,

Thanks for the link. I looked at various references and all seemed to be consistent with the description and the local name. So a yam it is! Interestingly its very prolific and can grow to 60kgs! The wife and M.I.L. haven't found this mother lode yet but I await the arrival of the big one. Our patch of jungle is proving interesting. Yesterday a very large and healthy male monkey emerged. First one I've seen in 8 years being here.

We do cultivate yam in Africa. what you describe is yam tubers, the vines are a dead give away.

Dont work, you wont be able to eat the ones that would make u sick as it will taste very acidic or caustic, once well cooked you can eat with different types of side dishes.

Is there anyways you can throw a barrow full my way?

No problem, come and visit with a large shovel.

[tim armstrong]

I can't cope. The wife and MIL just found another one. This is definitely a yam. Hanging from a vine, long, and about half a kilo. When they do drop to the ground they burrow in and continue to grow. Jing Jing ! It tasted more starchy, but still like a potato.

[loong]

Hello All, this a mun I'm told, with a small one off to the side, and a picture of the

vine. I don't know the name of the little white one.

rice555

I'm pretty sure that the big one is the same that I have growing (just a few at the moment). When you slice it, it has a slimy feel to it and lavender coloured mottling inside. Seems that this is possibly a true yam.

I have a lot of sweet potatoes growing and the locals call them Mun Gaeo

[Hawaiian]

The photos by rice555 looks like a variety of yama imo common in Japan. Although it means mountain potato in Japanese I believe it is actually a yam. Yama imo in Japan have a tan colored skin with white flesh. They are eaten both raw and cooked. Eaten raw they are grated and served in a variety of ways. Cooked, they are usually grated and mixed with daikon, tofu and so forth. Here in Hawaii we also have the purplish variety shown in the picture which is acidic and needs to be cooked. Would have to ask the wife how Thais prepare them.

[tim armstrong]

The photos by rice555 looks like a variety of yama imo common in Japan. Although it means mountain potato in Japanese I believe it is actually a yam. Yama imo in Japan have a tan colored skin with white flesh. They are eaten both raw and cooked. Eaten raw they are grated and served in a variety of ways. Cooked, they are usually grated and mixed with daikon, tofu and so forth. Here in Hawaii we also have the purplish variety shown in the picture which is acidic and needs to be cooked. Would have to ask the wife how Thais prepare them.

Thanks Hawaiian, The recipe with daikon and tofu sounds good. There may be a season for them in this part of Thailand as the MIL has been virtually living in the jungle everyday looking for them. Yes I'm convinced now that they are yams even though locals call them potatoes. They are selling them on some roadsides at the moment,with a lot of interest being shown. Some are upwards of a metre long.

[loong]

Something of a coincidence, yesterday Mrs TT brought home a cooked potato/coconut dish. On asking about it I was told it was "goi". (goy) Apparently it's dug up from the wild and not cultivated. Roots quite deep with a vinelike plant. Care must be taken in preparing it, as it can be toxic. In the past it was considered a poor folks mun. Now it costs more than mun. There's progress.

Maybe there's a regional difference here. My wife is a Lanna girl and has heard of "sow", but doesn't know what it looks like. Maybe the same thing as Goi.

Regards.

Gloi - กลอย is the wild asiatic yam, Dioscorea hispida

Possibly has other uses......

http://www.dailychilli.com/news/5354-breast-enlarging-yam

[loong]

Hello All, this a mun I'm told, with a small one off to the side, and a picture of the

vine. I don't know the name of the little white one.

rice555

I was cutting back some overgrowth today and found some of these yams hanging from the vine where it had climbed up out of sight. They were only about egg sized. Unfortunately I'd cut the vine while clearing. The big one in your picture is from the root, I had no idea that they also grew hanging from the vine.

My missus tells me that the local (nick?)name in this part of Isaan is มันตีนช้าง - Mun dteen-cháang which translates as elephant foot potato. She says that it is also known as มันข้าวก่ำ - Mun kâao gàm in Isaan.

From

http://www.thaibiodiversity.org/Life/LifeDetail.aspx?LifeID=37646

Vernacular names

มันเสา, มันเสา Man sao (Central)นอย Noi (Karen-Chiang Mai), มันเขาวัว Man khao wua, Man khaeng chaang, มันตีนช้าง Man teen chaang, มันเลี่ยม Man liam (Northern), มันงู Man nguu, มันจาวมะพร้าว Man chaao maphraao, มันมือหมี Man mue mee, มันเลือดไก่

[afarang]

There are so many different varieties of MUN grown here - this spelling is more accurate to the sound.Some years ago ,I was given one that was as big as a Western pumpkin. It was good to eat .

[tim armstrong]

There are so many different varieties of MUN grown here - this spelling is more accurate to the sound.Some years ago ,I was given one that was as big as a Western pumpkin. It was good to eat .

This could go on forever.Yesterday we had a farlang or two to lunch. FIL arrived half way through the meal with egg shaped 'mun' that he had grown and steamed himself. He wasn't too sure about the farlang smirks, as the mun looked very like a bunch of large hairy testicles. But they tasted delicious. Funny though, MIL has spent the past 3 weeks foraging in the jungle for mun, while FIL has his own little patch growing in secret.

[rice555]

Hello All, today;s English print newspaper that we can't mention on TV has an article on one of the jungle potatoes that has been talked about on this thread. Today's online 12/23/10 in the business section.

rice555