Real Food Encyclopedia | Taro
Though taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a fairly common ingredient in many parts of the world, it has a special place in the Pacific Islands. On the podcast “Climate Cuisine,” host Clarissa Wei explores the importance of the plant in Hawaiʻi — noting that kalo (“taro” in the Hawaiian language) is central to the Native Hawaiian creation story, as is the case in several Polynesian cultures. Taro cultivation allowed the Hawaiian Islands to be entirely self-sufficient for centuries.
Widely classified as a root vegetable, the root-like part of taro is actually known as a “corm” — a swollen part of the stem that develops underground and helps the plant survive harsh weather. But that’s not taro’s only food product: The large, heart-shaped leaves are also edible when cooked.
Fun facts about taro:
- Polynesians, famous sailors who traveled thousands of miles exploring and populating various islands, brought taro with them on their journeys. In Hawaiʻi, it’s known as a “canoe plant,” along with other important crops like coconuts, bananas and breadfruit.
- For a 2009 study, researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi collected nearly 300 different taro genotypes from around the islands. Ancient Hawaiians are thought to have developed more than 100 named varieties since the introduction of the plant.
- Taro is one of the seasonal foods customarily served at Tsukimi (“moon-viewing”), Japanese festivals honoring the harvest moon.
- Taro goes by many names across the world — other words you might encounter include cocoyam, dasheen and eddo.
What to look for when buying taro
Taro corms are large, with brown, scaly, somewhat hairy skin and, typically, a creamy-white interior flecked with purple (though purple and pink varieties also exist). When shopping, look for taro roots that are heavy for their size, with no mushy, black or dried-out spots.
The leaves can be green, purple or variegated and are sometimes sold bunched; they should be perky, with no wilted or yellow spots.
Sustainability of taro
Taro can be cultivated in dryland conditions or “wet-grown” in flooded fields. In some parts of the world, there are water-related issues with production. In Hawaiʻi, wet-grown taro farmers have run into problems with water access.
Pesticides
Some taro farmers use fungicides and herbicides to control diseases and weeds. If you’re concerned about this, seek out organic taro. The University of Hawaiʻi at one point worked on genetically engineering taro varieties to be more resistant to pests and diseases, but outrage from many Hawaiians led to a pause in research in 2005.
Seasonality
Being a tropical plant, taro does not like frost, so in many places it is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, avoiding the coldest parts of the year. In tropical regions, you can find both the leaves and the roots virtually year-round.
Geography
The plant is grown all over the tropical and sub-tropical world, and is an important staple in parts of Asia and Africa, as well as the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. 2022 FAOSTAT data indicates that Nigeria leads the world in taro production, with China, Cameroon, Ghana and Ethiopia also significant producers. In addition to Hawaiʻi, the top producing state in the U.S., taro grows wild in Florida and has recently garnered interest as a crop in North Carolina. Taro is also important in Guam and American Samoa.
Eating taro
Storing
Unlike many root vegetables, taro corms cannot be stored for long periods of time. Keep them in a cool, dark place for no more than a couple of days. Taro leaves are also highly perishable. Wrap them in damp paper towels and store in the fridge in a sealable bag — they, too, are best within two to three days.
Cooking
You should never, ever eat any part of the taro raw. Both the corm and the leaves of the plant are high in oxalic acid, which can be a serious irritant to skin, eyes and the digestive system (and, if consumed in large enough quantities, a toxin). Cooking destroys oxalic acid, long cooking times — up to an hour-plus — are usually employed to render the toxin inactive. It is also recommend to wear gloves when handling raw taro to avoid skin irritation.
When boiled or steamed, the white corms take on a purple-ish hue. You’ll see this part of the plant used in Pacific Island, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian and several African cuisines (here’s a Ghanaian recipe). In parts of West Africa, taro is used to make the staple dish fufu. In Hawaiʻi, taro is cooked and pounded into a paste (poi) and made into taro rolls. In the continental U.S., you may have seen taro at the grocery store in the form of chips — turns out you can bake your own.
Taro is also used in sweet dishes across the world. Many Pacific Island nations have confections involving grated taro, mixed with coconut milk and steamed: kūlolo in Hawaiʻi, fa’ausi in Samoa. (Thailand has an analogous recipe in the form of bua loi phuak.) Taro ice cream is also gaining popularity.
Taro leaves are similar in taste to spinach, although they must be cooked for much longer. In some Caribbean cuisines, taro leaves are cooked as a vegetable and may be referred to as callaloo (although this word is used for different plants on different islands). Taro leaves can also be used in cooking, to wrap and steam ingredients; Hawaiian lau lau, a popular comfort food, has pork and butterfish wrapped in taro leaves and steamed for several hours before unwrapping and eating.
Preserving
Cooked taro corms and leaves both freeze well. Taro leaves can also be dried, a preparation that’s used often in Filipino cuisine (try laing, dried taro leaves cooked in coconut milk).
Nutrition
The taro corm is high in fiber as well as manganese, potassium and Vitamins E and B6, and also offers good amounts of Vitamin C, magnesium and phosphorus. The leaves of the plant are even better — just one cup of cooked taro leaves will provide you with more than half of your daily Vitamin C and a third of your Vitamin A, plus nearly four grams of protein and good amounts of iron, potassium and riboflavin (Vitamin B2).
When eaten in the form of poi, taro can be left for a few days to “sour” or ferment, as the natural bacteria from the skin of the taro (including lactobacilli, the dominant bacteria used to make yogurt and other fermented foods) inoculate the pounded mixture. Scientists speculate that sour poi can be used as a probiotic and nutritional supplement for those with digestive problems. Taro corms and leaves are also used in traditional herbal medicine for digestive ailments like diarrhea and for wound care.
Top photo by dasuwan/Adobe Stock.