4B
L\?EJ%%t Charlotte $gst
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Confusion aside, yams aren’t close to sweet potato
Continued from page 1B
flesh with moist texture.
More than 133 million tons
are produced per year in
more than 100 countries.
Asia is the world’s largest
sweet potato-produciug
region, with 125 million tons
of annually Production in
North America is about
600,000 tons.
High in carbohydrates and
Vitamin A, the sweet potato
is meet often used as live
stock feed, hi industrial
processes to make alcohol
and starch, and products
such as noodles, candy,
desserts, aijd flour.
The yam
The true yam is the tuber
of a tropical vine (Dioscorea
batatas) and is not even dis
tantly related to the sweet
potato.
The yam has a rough skin
which is difficult to peel, that
softens after heating. Yam
skins vary in color fiom dark
brown to light pink.
Yam tubers can grow up to
7 feet in lei^th (imagine
Bobcats center Primoz
Brezec) and weigh up to 150
poimds. Yams are a primary
agricultural commodity in
West AMca.
Though not as high in
Vitamins A and C as the
sweet potato, true yams tend
to be hi^er in protein and
potassium. There are more
than 150 difierent varieties of
yam, which can be Med,
boiled, beaten into a paste,
made as desserts, or, as in the
Japanese mountain variety
eaten raw.
The confusion
Several decades ago when
sweet potatoes were intro
duced in the South, producers
and shippers looked for a way
to distinguish them from tra
ditional white-flesh types.
The African word nyami,
meaning to eat, was adapted
in its English form, yam. In
southern states, sweet pota
toes are often still referred to
as yams. Ts add to the confu
sion, canned sweet potatoes
Yams originated in Africa, and their tubers grow up to 7
feet in length and weigh up to 150 pounds.
Like mother, like daughter: Generations borrow
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW Y ORK—Fashion-con
scious families are doing
some cross-generational
dressing.
Grown women are squeez
ing into miniature Barbie- or
Hello Kitty-themed clothes,
while their daughters can
graduate to True Religion
jeans — which can cost $120
— about the same time they
give up diapers. Even some
dads get into the act, buying
his-and-his vint^e rock con
cert T-shirts for themsdves
and their sons.
“For the workir^ mom who
is pretty much on top of
trends, her kids become a
reflection of who they are.
You do for the kids what you’d
do for your own wardrobe,”
says Jaye Hersh, owner of the
hip Los Angeles boutique
Intuition which does indeed
sell pricey denim for children
and “Sesame Street” shirts to
moms.
“When you’re walking down
the street holding your
datighter’s hand, it makes
you feel good when she looks
good. It’s like having the li^t
car or the right handbag,” she
says. And for a cool matching
mother-daughter look, there’s
no resistance to the high
prices, she adds.
With her trendy, upscale
customers it doesn’t take long
for girls to develop their own
fashion saise, but they cer
tainly learn from their par
ents’ example.
“All httle girls still like
pink, but it’s an edgy pink
now. They want a princess
crown instead of butterflies.
The moms who have a sense
of style and make that a pri
ority for themselves- the kids
pick up on it,” Hersh
observes.
Mattel has teamed with
both Benetton and Anna Sui
for further fashion credibility
for its Barbie duds.
The Barbie Loves Benetton
collection is for girls and for
the current spring collection
features four “models”: The
Ibiza girl has a knit poncho
with fringe and butterfly
appliques, and camouflage-
print capris; St. Ibopez girl
has denim Bermuda shorts
with an empire-waist ging
ham top; the Osaka girl has a
denim miniskirt, graphic T-
shirt and vest that are deco
rated with a Japanese-stjie
cartoon Barbie; and the
Melbourne girl has a cropped
track jacket and sporty skort.
The flip side of this tr«id is
women - often the same ones
as the haute mamas — who
crave the comfort and nostal
gia that apparel decorated
with icons of their youth can
bring them.
Barbie Luxe, a line that
debuted last fall, is intended
for “girls of all ages.” It cur
rently features the same
babydoll top and skinnyjeans
by Sui worn by the Anna Sui
BoHo Barbie Doll.
“When they’re buying
Barbie for tiiemselves,
they’re drawn to a simpler
time and vintage Ts r^nind
them of that. What girl didn’t
want Barbie? The women
probably remember which
outfit was their favorite. They
also like shirts with Orange
Crush, Junior mints, rock
bands, Hello Kitty— anything
that conjures up a happy
memory” says Hersh.
Jewelry designer Taiina
Tarantino added Barbie
items to her collection,
including a cameo, pink
pearls, drop earrings and a
rhinestone tiara. She was a
Barbie fan as a child. “I loved
my Barbie and all of her
accessories as a little girl.
Barbie lives in this pink
sparkling world and has been
an inspirational icon to many
designers including myself,”
she says.
The jewdry is intended for
adults, but Tarantino says
her own daughters, ages 4
and 3, are quite excited about
the project.
Tarantino also notes that in
a fashion world fuU of same
ness, highlighting favorite
childhood icons actually
allows the wearer to inject a
little personality and individ
uality
McDonald’s, which only
recently launched clothing
licenses, has proven a best
seller, especially the “all-beef
patty” T that comes in a
Happy Meal box, reports
Intuition’s Hereh. “When par
ents are buying it for thedr
kids, you hear them say, ‘T
used to eat with your dad
there,’” she says.
Celebrities, seemingly
always a driving force for
trends, are an even bigger
factor here: “If you see
Lindsay (Lohan) or Paris
(Hilton) wearing it -- if a cus
tomer sees one of them in a
Rolling Stones’ tongue T-
shirt, then the customer
comes in looking for that
ecact one,” Ha^h says.
Not aU of the multigenera-
tional looks are so edgy,
thou^.
OMy a Dutch brand that
has the stjde of a modern-day
Laura Ashley dresses moms
and daughters in vintage-
inspired floral and romantic
prints.
Sheri Styles, director of
merchandising, explains that
the husband-wife design
team of Willem and Marieke
Olsthoom starts off with chil
dren’s clothing and then
adapts prints and silhouettes
for older girls and women.
An infant’s garment, for
instance, might be in a minia
ture floral pattern, which will
be blown up for a girl; a teen’s
garment might feature a
patchwork that includes that
floral print with a comple
mentary stripe; and the
woman’s garment will have a
different shape and use that
floral print for its trim.
“Girls and women seem to
like the same colors, things
that are pretty, feminine-
lots of pink and orange. There
are those that like blue-
green, and that’s also a main
stay for us,” says Stjdes. “The
collection is very much
designed with mothers and
dau^te:^ in mind.”
Charlotte’s
weekly link
to community
news and the
world around
you.
charlotte
are frequently labeled yams.
Though sweet potatoes can
be widely found in U.S. gro
cery stores, true yams can
only be foimd in specialty
markets, such as those serv
ing Asian and Caribbean com
munities.
For more information visit
wwwJowntownsnuthfield.com.
PHOTOA'AHOO.COM
AMERlCAREtHEALIH
Edo Foundation Scholarships
Available...Apply
Each year AmeriCare presents up
to 10 “Need Based” scholarships to
qualified area seniors planning to
enroll in a 4-year college, or university of their choice
with a financial scholarship. Applicants must be
minority students with a 3.0 GPA or better, show proof
of need, and write an essay expressing why they
should be chosen as an AmeriCare scholarship recip
ient.
All entries must be postmarked no later than May
10, 2006, and mailed to; AmeriCare On The Plaza,
1805 Milton Rd., Charlotte, NC’28215, Attn: Sonya.
Presentation date to be announced later.
‘At The Park" • 704-399-2677
6023 Beatties Ford Road • Charlotte, NC 28216
“Sugar Creek” • Coming 2005
721W. Sugar Creek Rd. • Charlotte, NC 28213
“On The Plaza” • 704-535-0400
1805 Milton Road • Charlotte, NC 28215
Comprehensive Care You Deserve: I
• State-of-the Art Pediatrics • Urgent Care I
• Internal Medicine • Minor Trauma Fidelis
• Industrial Medicine • Diagnostic- Center Edosomtvan
“For I will restore health unto thee, and / will heal thy
wounds, saith the Lord.” -Jeremiah 30:17
Ckarleston House
on Tke plaza
A i-ow Country Restaurant
Lunch 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Dinner. 5:00 p.m. -11:00 p.m.
3128 The Plaza
Charlotte, NC 28205
704-333-4441
Lots of good food and keverages!
feed’ you til we fill’ you up, fuk true!
Booh your2006 Even t By May 1 Sth
and^et 25% off
Book Your:
• Wedding Receptions * Rckearsal Dinners •
• office Parties * Family Reunions •
Ekrking availakle on premises and skutde services off premise
dOO BROAr>C.ASriWI NFt WORK
S-ii
%
•4,
WADE-AM
1340
WADESBORO, NC
...vitk At.
p/ism pkUiy pasun Ckuhs
'A. bt. ‘bdm, }/mtk
ffn and much tmd
ih mi
1501 N. l-as SERVICE Road * Charlotte, NC 26216
704-393-1540