Taro

Also known asColocasia esculenta · Eddoe · Dasheen · Arbi · Gabi · Keladi · 芋头

Name: Taro (Colocasia esculenta) — a starchy corm with brown, hairy skin and white, cream or purple-flecked flesh, with a mild, nutty, slightly sweet taste. Its large, heart-shaped leaves are also eaten. Dasheen, eddo and arbi are related types.

Description

Taro is one of the oldest cultivated crops, grown in Southeast Asia and the Pacific for more than 10,000 years, and is a staple in Polynesia, Melanesia, West Africa, the Caribbean, and in India, China and Japan. In Hawaii, taro is pounded into poi, a traditional paste, and it is considered sacred, linked to the Hawaiian creation story.

Raw taro contains needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate, which make the mouth and throat itch and burn, so both the corm and leaves must be cooked thoroughly. Cooked taro has a creamy, starchy texture, and is used in curries, soups, chips, desserts and bubble tea, and in Chinese dim sum as taro dumplings and fried taro puffs.

Main nutrition value

Taro is a good source of carbohydrate, fibre, potassium, vitamin E and manganese, and is more fibrous and has a lower glycaemic index than potato.

How best to be consumed

Taro must always be cooked thoroughly.

1. Peel with gloves, since the sap can irritate the skin, then boil, steam or roast until completely soft.
2. Add to curries, soups and stews, or mash with coconut milk, as in Pacific cooking.
3. Slice and fry into crisps, or use in dim sum and desserts.
4. Cook the leaves for a long time, as in luau or laing, to destroy the oxalate crystals.
5. Never eat taro raw.

Overconsumption could cause…

Taro is safe only when thoroughly cooked.

1. Itching and burning of the mouth and throat from raw or undercooked taro, because of calcium oxalate crystals.
2. Oxalates, which matter for people prone to kidney stones when eaten in very large amounts. Taro is high in oxalate.
3. Higher carbohydrate and sugar intake than most vegetables, which matters for people managing diabetes.
4. Skin irritation from handling raw taro.

GroupsOther Starchy VegetablesPotatoesRoot VegetablesLow fatLow sodiumFresh

Related foodsYamCassava / YucaParsnipSweet PotatoLotus RootArrowroot

Wikipedia — Taro, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro