What Is the Difference Between Huaishan and Chinese Yam? 4 Key Points to Tell Them Apart

In many regions, people treat huaishan and Chinese yam as the same food, believing there is essentially no difference between them. Anyone who holds this view is mistaken. In fact, the essential difference between huaishan and Chinese yam is quite significant, as they belong to two different categories of food. So where exactly lies the main difference between huaishan and Chinese yam? 4 key points will teach you how to tell them apart!

1. Where Is the Main Difference Between Huaishan and Chinese Yam?

1. Different appearance

(1) Chinese yam is relatively thick and sturdy, especially the head. Apart from the thicker head, the rest of the lower part is relatively thin, and the skin of Chinese yam is fairly smooth.

(2) The skin of huaishan is covered with many small pits and spots, and the surface is full of rust-like speckles that cannot be washed off.

2. Different quality

(1) Chinese yam is now cultivated artificially by many people, and it contains more water.

(2) Huaishan has a relatively fine, delicate and hard texture, and is not easy to break. Its density is relatively high, so it feels a bit like holding a stone when you pick it up, and it is also relatively heavy.

3. Different places of origin

(1) Chinese yam is a Chinese medicinal herb used both as medicine and as food. Because the climate varies from place to place, it affects the texture of Chinese yam. Its main producing areas are distributed in Bo'ai, Wuzhi, Wenxian and other places in Henan; among them, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Zhejiang, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and other places also grow it in large quantities, so the distribution of Chinese yam growing areas is relatively wide.

(2) Huaishan is a food with extremely high medicinal value, called an authentic medicinal material by the traditional Chinese medicine community. Its main producing areas are distributed in Anhui, Jiangsu and other places, and only the huaishan produced in these two places is huaishan of pure and authentic quality.

4. Different cut surfaces

(1) For ordinary Chinese yam, as soon as you cut it open, the surface will turn yellow after just a short while, and when washing it you only need to simply scrub the skin a little and it will become very smooth.

(2) When huaishan is cut open, its surface is milky white, and it can stay milky white for a very long time. During washing, you need to scrub it hard.

5. Different cooking times

(1) Chinese yam needs to be cooked for a very long time before it can be eaten, but when it enters your mouth it has a melt-in-the-mouth feel.

(2) Huaishan, on the other hand, only needs to be cooked for 6-7 minutes to achieve a melt-in-the-mouth feel. If the huaishan you buy and take home needs more than half of that time to cook, then you must have bought Chinese yam rather than huaishan.

6. Different uses

(1) In daily life, Chinese yam is mostly eaten as a food, and I believe many people have eaten processed foods made from Chinese yam.

(2) Huaishan is a medicinal material, and in daily life we mostly eat it as a medicinal meal.

Through the above analysis of the 6 differences between Chinese yam and huaishan, I believe everyone can accurately work out which is huaishan and which is Chinese yam.

2. 4 Key Points to Teach You How to Tell Chinese Yam and Huaishan Apart!

1. First, look

Huaishan is relatively uniform in thickness, its skin color is slightly darker, and its rhizome has iron-red speckles. If the diameter is too thick or the skin is too smooth, it shows that it is not authentic. The thick and large iron stick yams sold on the market are all fake huaishan; after steaming they are only mealy and not floury, and they give off a lot of steam.

2. Second, weigh

A single huaishan weighs no more than 0.4 jin, that is, less than half a jin. If it is too heavy, then it is not authentic huaishan but Chinese yam.

3. Third, break

Break huaishan open, and you can sense that its flesh is relatively hard, full of flouriness, white or slightly ivory-yellow in color, and low in mucilage; ordinary Chinese yam not only lacks such firm flesh, but is also not so full of flouriness.

4. Fourth, taste

Because huaishan has a low water content and a rich sugar content, its juice is relatively thick. Therefore, authentic huaishan can be steamed through in a very short time, in just 5-7 minutes, and after cooking its texture is relatively dry and rich, and sweet; Chinese yam takes a longer time to steam through, and its texture is crisp.

When selecting, you can tell Chinese yam and huaishan apart according to the above 4 points.

Summary: The above content is the main differences between huaishan and Chinese yam that we have compiled for you, and we hope it can help friends who need it. This article is compiled from the internet.