The Complete Handbook of Yams
A Professional's Field Guide to Selection, Storage, Processing, and Commercial Use
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The practical reference for buying, storing, and processing yams - from cultivar selection to wholesale grading standards.
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About this book
Yams are a staple crop for millions, but they are poorly understood by most professionals who buy and sell them. Confusion with sweet potatoes, a wide range of cultivars, and a short storage life often lead to costly mistakes. This handbook cuts through the noise, offering a systematic look at what yams actually are, how they behave, and what to look for when you are handling real money and real quantities.
Coverage moves from the fundamentals of the plant itself to the specifics of grading, purchasing, storage facility design, and processing applications. Different chapters address the needs of a restaurant chef choosing a cultivar for a specific dish, a produce buyer negotiating with a supplier, and a processor planning an expansion. The book also covers troubleshooting common storage and handling issues and outlines realistic business opportunities in trading, processing, and equipment supply.
Written in a direct, instructional style, this is not a cookbook or a marketing brochure. It is a reference you will want on the desk or in the truck, with specifics you can use: approximate yields, storage temperature tolerances, pricing benchmarks, and the questions to ask a new supplier.
Reader Reviews
Joseph Wright
★★★★★I keep this in the office at our produce wholesaler. The storage physiology chapter alone saved us a load of rot in our high-humidity room last month. It reads like a textbook but it's actually practical. My only gripe is the lack of color photos for the pest damage section - the descriptions are thorough, but a visual chart would help our warehouse guys. Still, a solid investment for the trade.
Brenda Lee
★★★★★Finally, a book that treats yams with the seriousness they deserve instead of confusing them with sweet potatoes. I'm a specialty grocer and the chapter on grading specifications helped me push back on a supplier who was selling us mixed sizes. The troubleshooting guide for soft rot was spot on. I've recommended it to two other buyers already.
Kenneth Davis
★★★★★The book is well-organized and covers a lot of ground, useful for a serious gardener like myself, but it leans heavily toward a commercial audience. A lot of the chapter on installation and usage is about the logistics of cold storage rooms and curing boxes, which isn't quite practical for my root cellar. The botanical and cultivar information is good, but I wanted more on small-scale storage solutions. It told me more about global supply chains than I needed.