Learning about vegetables in Cuenca

  See info in post on Aug 15, for discussion.
The purple and white vegetable is...
Two people thought it looks like a Peruvian potato which is indeed, well, purple.  However, a friend who was born and raised in Cuenca, said the photo looks like a type of yuca.  She did not see the actual vegetable in person so I"m leaning more toward potato, myself because the texture seemed between that of a potato and the fibrous, almost stringy nature of yuca.  Perhaps shredding it in a food processor helped with the tougher texture.

Len brought home a different vegetable that was small and dark colored on the outside like a beet but shaped longer with a little pointed tip like a yam.  It was a very deep "eggplant" color of purple but when I peeled it, it was a palest buttery color inside.  It was pretty tough but not fibrous/stringy.  It seemed to be some sort of yam.  Its in today's soup so I don't know the texture or taste yet.

Len also brought home a camote, a different type of yam, not very pretty - kind of like a knobby brown potato, but it too is delicious when cooked.  I'll post pictures next time he brings those home.  I forgot before peeling them yesterday.  {:-D  I was hungry!

I'm working on the next post which is about quilting and some of the things that arise in Cuenca for people who sew.
Have a marvelous Monday!
S
A reader, Carol N, shared a great link about sweet potatoes and yams.  Sweet potatoes go back in South American culture 5000 years! I'm going out to hunt for some sweet potatoes and yams.  kumar is the Quechua word for sweet potato while ipomoea batata is the word in Espanol.
The word for yam in Espanol is camote. For more info go to
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/difference-yams-sweet-potatoes/
Thanks for the great resource and info, Carol.
Sharon