06-15-2006, 09:40 AM
Lenny,
Malasadas are a pastry of Portuguese origin. It is basically a deep-fried doughnut without the hole. When I grew up in Honolulu, Leonard's Bakery was just about the only place that made them, along with Pao Duce (Portuguese for pan dulce, or sweet bread) which is the famous Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Leonard's may not have been the first bakery to produce them regularly, but they certainly carried the torch for many years.
Malasadas have parallels in many cultures: andagi (ahn-da-GHEE) in Okinawan cuisine, dango (DHAN-go) in Japanese, churros in Mexican, Krispy Kreme on the mainland.... Malasadas were usually rolled in sugar, andagi and dango aren't, churros are extruded in long ridged lengths and rolled in sugar. I'm sure there are many other cultural comps.
These days, malasadas are even filled with sweet goop, like a jelly doughnut.
Were you also asking about taro? Taro, or kalo, in Hawaiian, is the plant from which poi is made by beating the root. Probably brought over from Tahiti, or wherever the Polynesians who populated Hawaii originated. The leaves are also edible, somewhat like spinach. The Hawaiians were prolific with kalo/taro, having developed over 160 varieties/cultivars of it that could grow in dryland as well as flooded areas. Most of the poi that you can buy in the market comes from one type, Lehua.
I recalled going to a county fair in Hilo in the 90's where a guy who had been studying kalo made a really nice presentation. The best part was that he had samples that were just run through a Champion juicer, so they were concentrates. He had a yellow-orange variety that was sooo ono! Wish I knew what it was!
Hope that helps,
Les
Malasadas are a pastry of Portuguese origin. It is basically a deep-fried doughnut without the hole. When I grew up in Honolulu, Leonard's Bakery was just about the only place that made them, along with Pao Duce (Portuguese for pan dulce, or sweet bread) which is the famous Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Leonard's may not have been the first bakery to produce them regularly, but they certainly carried the torch for many years.
Malasadas have parallels in many cultures: andagi (ahn-da-GHEE) in Okinawan cuisine, dango (DHAN-go) in Japanese, churros in Mexican, Krispy Kreme on the mainland.... Malasadas were usually rolled in sugar, andagi and dango aren't, churros are extruded in long ridged lengths and rolled in sugar. I'm sure there are many other cultural comps.
These days, malasadas are even filled with sweet goop, like a jelly doughnut.
Were you also asking about taro? Taro, or kalo, in Hawaiian, is the plant from which poi is made by beating the root. Probably brought over from Tahiti, or wherever the Polynesians who populated Hawaii originated. The leaves are also edible, somewhat like spinach. The Hawaiians were prolific with kalo/taro, having developed over 160 varieties/cultivars of it that could grow in dryland as well as flooded areas. Most of the poi that you can buy in the market comes from one type, Lehua.
I recalled going to a county fair in Hilo in the 90's where a guy who had been studying kalo made a really nice presentation. The best part was that he had samples that were just run through a Champion juicer, so they were concentrates. He had a yellow-orange variety that was sooo ono! Wish I knew what it was!
Hope that helps,
Les