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Taro: Best Not Eaten Raw
Vegetables and Vegetarian FoodsWinter Volume: 2015 Issue: 22(4) pages: 30 to 31 This vegetable, which some call an herb, is actually a corm that grows in paddy fields. Corms are thickened underground stems of certain plants, the taro among them. Some also call them 'solid bulbs' and though common, less accurate as is calling them tropical roots. Botanically known as Colocasia antiquorum, or C. esculenta, there are many different varieties and looks of this vegetable. People do eat all parts of them including the leaves and leaf-stems. It is best to cook them all because they are toxic to many folks if uncooked, particularly to children, the ill, and the elderly. So we repeat, it is best not to eat them raw. Propagated for centuries in China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, they also grow all over the world. Some of their leaves are white, others greenish, others purple. The Chinese know them as yu tou, wu tow, or yu nai, and they are popular as a vegetable and as an ornamental, the species esculenta may be the most popular vegetable in the world. In some places they are known as eddoe and when cultivated, can be the size of potatoes, large or small. Bigger ones have rough-looking exteriors and rough-looking ridges on them. Some are lumpy on their outsides, some hairy, too. After peeling, they can be white, pink, or purple on their insides; and they are often known as dasheen, a creole name indicating they came from China. This is but one of their many names, and the list keeps growing. As to when the taro plant began in China or elsewhere in Asia, or came there, we have read many different dates, and this needs more research. Historians say taro did originate in either South East Asia, China, and/or India where it was first cultivated. They grow in these countries upland if well-watered, in flooded fields along with rice and lotus, also in lower areas. They did reach Egypt at the time of Christ, were planted there and elsewhere in Africa for dozens of centuries, and the Spanish and French introduced them to the tropics and the New World where many know this vegetable as a corruption of ‘de la Chine’ meaning that it came from China. Most know that if their tops are cut off, the remaining part is planted and does grow from what is left. An original plant can produce three small or two large crops each year, that does not help when trying to date their first arrival. Taro in Asia is more often the small round variety, and some do call it eddo and not taro. These are usually one and the same vegetable. Small ones are usually steamed in their skin; and do scrub the skin before steaming, then mash it when soft. Native to this Southeast Asian region, taro is thought of as a root vegetable but it is really a corm or underground stem; and there is lots of its cultivation in the south of China, less in the north, and lots of it in Hong Kong where it is also popular. There, they call it wu rau or oo a in Taiwan. It is appreciated for its small starch grains said to be good for children, the ill, and the elderly. This perennial is known by many other names including coco, hung nga, malanga, sato imo, tannia, tannier, woo tau; and still other names in many other places. Most people know it better when served hot than cold or cool because when cool, it is dense and waxy. Most like it pureed. Few know that half a cup is one hundred calories, an excellent source of potassium, and a fairly good source of iron and fiber. This vegetable has less protein than potatoes or yams, so from a nutritional perspective, this staple is not as healthy as those vegetables are; but it does stay longer in storage than they do. Its toxicity comes from crystals of calcium oxalate found most often just under the skin, particularly in large corms. There are some modern strains that have none, and they are cultivated specifically for that. If from your yard, we recommend not eating them uncooked. Cooking reduces this problem so better safe than sorry. The Chinese call the large taro bun long wo tau, the smaller ones hung nga woo tau. In the south of China, they are most often boiled and peeled or peeled and boiled, then eaten out of hand. They are particularly popular during Mid-Autumn festival, and sold on the streets then. Those that grow taro know it is best planted deep and in moist soil. There it resists drought and cold, and needs half a year to mature. It is best harvested by hand or with hand tools, the leaves best roasted, baked, boiled, or fried. It is known for its nutty flavor, and the Chinese like it plain, in sweet dishes, or sweet drinks, and thin sliced and fried crisp like potato chips. The corms have more that twenty-five percent of ones minimum daily requirement of Vitamin B6, twenty percent of Vitamin E, and twenty-one percent RDA for manganese. The leaves have thirty percent of their Vitamin E equivalent, thirty-eight percent of daily needs for Vitamin B2, thirty-two percent for folate, sixty-three percent for Vitamin C, and one hundred percent for Vitamin K. Thus, from a nutritional standpoint, this is a very healthy vegetable. Called gabi in the Philippines and kalo in Hawaii; in the latter, they prefer it very, very long-cooked where it is known as poi. When fermented, the Chinese call it nan ru, and they also like it in a marinade with red bean curd, rice wine, oyster sauce, garlic, five-spice powder, and a little ground white pepper; also with pork and/or fried yams. Those that grow taro do appreciate the large amount of growth this plant has in the first few months. They often make cuttings and use the parts cut off in mixed dishes. After harvest, they cover the corms not used with soil or keep them in the ground and dig them up months later. In almost every Chinatown, one can purchase taro fresh, as chips, and in many other ways. They are seen in markets at several ages, the older varieties with brown flecks on a cut edge enabling one to see them. Some say only to purchase them when old and big. Accounting for any toxicity, we suggest changing the water at least once to reduce any. We also recommend using them in other starch recipes such as those that follow. Botanically known as Colocasia antiquorum, or C. esculenta, there are many different varieties and looks of this vegetable. People do eat all parts of them including the leaves and leaf-stems. It is best to cook them all because they are toxic to many folks if uncooked, particularly to children, the ill, and the elderly. So we repeat, it is best not to eat them raw. Propagated for centuries in China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, they also grow all over the world. Some of their leaves are white, others greenish, others purple. The Chinese know them as yu tou, wu tow, or yu nai, and they are popular as a vegetable and as an ornamental, the species esculenta may be the most popular vegetable in the world. In some places they are known as eddoe and when cultivated, can be the size of potatoes, large or small. Bigger ones have rough-looking exteriors and rough-looking ridges on them. Some are lumpy on their outsides, some hairy, too. After peeling, they can be white, pink, or purple on their insides; and they are often known as dasheen, a creole name indicating they came from China. This is but one of their many names, and the list keeps growing. As to when the taro plant began in China or elsewhere in Asia, or came there, we have read many different dates, and this needs more research. Historians say taro did originate in either South East Asia, China, and/or India where it was first cultivated. They grow in these countries upland if well-watered, in flooded fields along with rice and lotus, also in lower areas. They did reach Egypt at the time of Christ, were planted there and elsewhere in Africa for dozens of centuries, and the Spanish and French introduced them to the tropics and the New World where many know this vegetable as a corruption of ‘de la Chine’ meaning that it came from China. Most know that if their tops are cut off, the remaining part is planted and does grow from what is left. An original plant can produce three small or two large crops each year, that does not help when trying to date their first arrival. Taro in Asia is more often the small round variety, and some do call it eddo and not taro. These are usually one and the same vegetable. Small ones are usually steamed in their skin; and do scrub the skin before steaming, then mash it when soft. Native to this Southeast Asian region, taro is thought of as a root vegetable but it is really a corm or underground stem; and there is lots of its cultivation in the south of China, less in the north, and lots of it in Hong Kong where it is also popular. There, they call it wu rau or oo a in Taiwan. It is appreciated for its small starch grains said to be good for children, the ill, and the elderly. This perennial is known by many other names including coco, hung nga, malanga, sato imo, tannia, tannier, woo tau; and still other names in many other places. Most people know it better when served hot than cold or cool because when cool, it is dense and waxy. Most like it pureed. Few know that half a cup is one hundred calories, an excellent source of potassium, and a fairly good source of iron and fiber. This vegetable has less protein than potatoes or yams, so from a nutritional perspective, this staple is not as healthy as those vegetables are; but it does stay longer in storage than they do. Its toxicity comes from crystals of calcium oxalate found most often just under the skin, particularly in large corms. There are some modern strains that have none, and they are cultivated specifically for that. If from your yard, we recommend not eating them uncooked. Cooking reduces this problem so better safe than sorry. The Chinese call the large taro bun long wo tau, the smaller ones hung nga woo tau. In the south of China, they are most often boiled and peeled or peeled and boiled, then eaten out of hand. They are particularly popular during Mid-Autumn festival, and sold on the streets then. Those that grow taro know it is best planted deep and in moist soil. There it resists drought and cold, and needs half a year to mature. It is best harvested by hand or with hand tools, the leaves best roasted, baked, boiled, or fried. It is known for its nutty flavor, and the Chinese like it plain, in sweet dishes, or sweet drinks, and thin sliced and fried crisp like potato chips. The corms have more that twenty-five percent of ones minimum daily requirement of Vitamin B6, twenty percent of Vitamin E, and twenty-one percent RDA for manganese. The leaves have thirty percent of their Vitamin E equivalent, thirty-eight percent of daily needs for Vitamin B2, thirty-two percent for folate, sixty-three percent for Vitamin C, and one hundred percent for Vitamin K. Thus, from a nutritional standpoint, this is a very healthy vegetable. Called gabi in the Philippines and kalo in Hawaii; in the latter, they prefer it very, very long-cooked where it is known as poi. When fermented, the Chinese call it nan ru, and they also like it in a marinade with red bean curd, rice wine, oyster sauce, garlic, five-spice powder, and a little ground white pepper; also with pork and/or fried yams. Those that grow taro do appreciate the large amount of growth this plant has in the first few months. They often make cuttings and use the parts cut off in mixed dishes. After harvest, they cover the corms not used with soil or keep them in the ground and dig them up months later. In almost every Chinatown, one can purchase taro fresh, as chips, and in many other ways. They are seen in markets at several ages, the older varieties with brown flecks on a cut edge enabling one to see them. Some say only to purchase them when old and big. Accounting for any toxicity, we suggest changing the water at least once to reduce any. We also recommend using them in other starch recipes such as those that follow.
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