Taro

Lets talk taro. It's the traditional staple crop if Hawaiian cuisine and most commonly the root is eaten by making it into poi. Poi is one of those weird foods that you have to grow up with to appreciate. It's a purple fermented paste that is eaten as a side dish with most Hawaiian meals. It tastes like glue and I have to say, it's grown on me. Probably much of this is due to the fact that it is almost always eaten with something else really tasty like ahi or kailua pork. Not to mention that it's really good for you, which I now know more than any mortal should after having waded through tons of dietary studies reasearching a grant for a poi company here in the islands.




For me the most interesting part of this interesting plant is the rich agicultural culture that has been built up around growing the plant. Taro is traditionally farmed in flooded fields, much like rice, and to my eyes is a stunningly beautiful crop. There are creation stories in Hawaiian folklore where taro (or kalo in Hawaiian) is the child of the gods and the oldest ancestor of the Hawaiian people, and therefore it is inappropriate to fight, raise your voice or be disrespectful while a bowl of poi is on the table. Even the Hawaiian terms for the taro plant are related to terms used for the family, with language to indicate which generation of the plant is being grown and where the corm (shoot used to cultivate new plantings) derives from.

I had the lovely experience last night of learning to make another traditional Hawaiian taro dish under the instruction of a group of locals. Lau lau is steamed pork, green banana, sweet potato, chicken or just about anything else you like, wrapped in taro and tea leaves and steamed for several hours until it's tender and delicious. The taro leaf (or luau...where the name of the touristy hula and roasted pig business comes from) ends up tasting like amazingly succulent spinach and the fillings all magically season one another as they cook. Hmmm...I love taro.