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I assume Jay will have some answers to this, and I'd do a search but it isn't working....
I was given some taro plants last fall when I moved here by a friend who likes taro for its tropical appearance. I'm interested in using the leaves, tho, for greens and will try pressure cooking.... seem to remember that plain boiling doesn't break down the oxalic crystals? Wonder if the temp gets high enough with pressure cooking? But I'm also wondering if ANY taro is OK, or should I be looking for some that is "food grade" - seem to remember that Chinese taro is good for eating, but not sure if that's the root for poi, or the leaves as well?? Any suggestions here? Some of my plants have lots of keikis (are these the hulis?)....and I'd like to plant more, but figure I better know if this is the "right" kind of taro for eating....? And do you really have to wait a couple years to start eating the leaves?
Katie in Eden Roc (yeah, I'm a crappy gardener, too, at this elevation of about 1800 ft. but still having great fun!)
Wherever you go, there you are.
Wherever you go, there you are.
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say kate, what i gave you was elephant ear which i wouldnt eat, stick to the varities that are edible. in the classified many times you see a guy advertising hulus pretty cheap... or go to the grocery store or keaau lady (she moved by the way over by the old vernas, her own store) and buy one and plant it....
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Dear Rumi, You can boil taro instead of pressure cooking but should boil for a couple hours. Upland or dryland Kalo is not recomended for making poi. Do not peel the Kalo, your best bet is to cube it into 2" or so sizes, then boil or pressure cook. Some varieties are better than others and more edible, yes many chinese varieties are known for lower oxalic levels and there is one Chinese variety my friend in hamakua claims to be able to eat raw. Any taro experts out there who can elaborate or reccomend a certain variety?
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Just curious - what is so good about taro that makes people take chances with toxins ? (I know,after proper processing,it's safe.But still...)
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mm mm good, that's what i say. having some kalua turkey/cabbage with, you guessed it, poi tonight. i can eat a whole bag myself.
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quote:
Originally posted by kani-lehua
...I can eat a whole bag myself.
Did you buy a wrong house,Kani?It's going to be OK,just don't eat the whole thing!
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quote:
Maybe the simple fact that it sustained Hundred of Thousands of people before Cook's arrival.
Yeah, taro is a staple food and we know it works in Hawaii because it worked so well for the Hawaiians being one of the main things they lived on. It seems to me it would be a good plant for upper Puna where there is so much rain because it likes a wet environment.
If you grow taro for the corms it's tempting to eat the leaves also, but I wouldn't eat a lot of it because from what I've read the leaves have more oxalic acid than the corms. Sweetpotato has the same benefit; you can eat both the tubers and the leaves but with sweet potato oxalic acid isn't a problem.
Sweetpotato is one of the things I'm considering planting when I go to Puna. My lot is at 1350 ft (right at the top of Hawaiian Acres) and I think that the average annual rainfall is about 180". Has anyone in a location that wet tried planting it?
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quote:
Originally posted by StillHope
quote:
Originally posted by kani-lehua
...I can eat a whole bag myself.
Did you buy a wrong house,Kani?It's going to be OK,just don't eat the whole thing!
haven't bought the house yet. will be flying up on the 22nd of this month to look at properties. didn't eat the whole bag, but what i did tasted damn good. [
]
"chaos reigns within.
reflect, repent and reboot.
order shall return."
microsoft error message with haiku poetry
"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
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Just posted pictures of both on the blog, both grow like crazy up the hill and can't be over-recommended.
The "poison" is no big deal. It will bother your tongue or not, and if you're careful, it's no big deal. I eat the stuff all the time!
http://sanityandsimplicity.blogspot.com/
Some of the taro on the pictures are ornamental types--I color-code my taro. Dark leaves, Ogg no eats. Green leaves, Ogg eats.
