Taro 57078 225739991 2008-07-15T04:32:15Z 190.98.8.231 {{otheruses1|the plant}} {{Taxobox | name = Taro | image = TaroAKL.jpg | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Liliopsida]] | ordo = [[Alismatales]] | familia = [[Araceae]] | genus = ''[[Colocasia]]'' | species = '''''C. esculenta''''' | binomial = ''Colocasia esculenta'' | binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|L]].) [[Heinrich Wilhelm Schott|Schott]] }} '''Taro''' (from [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] or other [[Polynesian languages]]), more rarely '''kalo''' (from [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]), is a tropical plant grown primarily as a [[root vegetable|vegetable food]] for its edible [[corm]], and secondarily as a [[leaf vegetable]]. It is considered a staple in [[oceanic]] cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.<ref>Country profile: Samoa, New Agriculturist Online [http://www.new-agri.co.uk/06-1/countryp.html new-agri.co], accessed June 12, 2006</ref> Taro is closely related to ''[[Xanthosoma]]'' and ''[[Caladium]]'', plants commonly grown as [[ornamental plant|ornamentals]], and like them it is sometimes loosely called '''elephant ear'''. In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of [[calcium oxalate]],<ref>[http://www.weird-food.com/weird-food-vegetable.html Weird Foods from around the World<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_toxic_tarovine ASPCA: Animal Poison Control Center: Toxic Plant List<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> although the toxin is destroyed by cooking<ref>''The Morton Arboretum Quarterly'', Morton Arboretum/University of California, 1965, p. 36.</ref> or can be removed by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight. ==Names and origin== Taro was probably first native to the lowland [[wetland]]s of [[Malaysia]] (taloes). Estimates are that taro was in cultivation in wet tropical [[India]] before 5000 B.C., presumably coming from Malaysia, and from India further transported westward to ancient [[Egypt]], where it was described by [[Greeks|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] historians as an important crop. Taro's scientific name is ''[[Colocasia]] esculenta'' (synonym ''C. antiquorum''); ''esculent'' is an English word taken directly from Latin and means edible. The ''[[Xanthosoma]]'' [[genus]] is closely related, and several common names including '''[[callaloo]]''' and '''coco''' or '''cocoyam''' are used to refer to either Taro or domesticated ''Xanthosoma'' species which share substantially the same uses. Taro may be distinguished as "taro cocoyam" or "old cocoyam", with the term "new cocoyam" referring to species of ''Xanthosoma''. In [[Kenya]], taro root is referred to as '''arrow root''', or by the [[Kikuyu]] or [[Kamba]] word '''ndŭma'''. In [[South Africa]], it referred to by the [[Zulu]] word '''amaDumbe'''<ref>[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Colocasia.html M.M.P.N.D. - Sorting Colocasia names<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> or the anglicised '''madumbi'''<ref>http://www.ukzn.ac.za/publications/ResearchReport2005.pdf</ref>. In some [[Caribbean]] countries, it is sometimes known as '''dasheen''', a name said to be derived from the French ''de Chine'' which means ''from China'' and evokes the plant's [[Asia]]n origins. The leaves are used to make a soup popular in the [[West Indies]], called '''kallaloo''' soup. In [[Cyprus]] it is known as '''kolokassi''', which is similar to the name the Romans used: '''colocasia'''. Taro is also known as '''dalo''' In the [[Fijian Islands]] and in Japan as '''satoimo'''. '''Eddoe''' is another name for taro, although this one seems to be preferentially used to designate small corm varieties. ==Uses== The small round variety is [[food processing|peeled and boiled]], sold either [[frozen food|frozen]], bagged in its own liquids, or [[canning|canned]]. The plant is actually inedible when raw because of needle-shaped [[Ergastic substance|raphides]] in the plant cells. Typical of leaf vegetables, taro leaves are rich in [[vitamin]]s and [[dietary mineral|mineral]]s. They are a good source of [[thiamin]], [[riboflavin]], [[iron]], [[phosphorus]], and [[zinc]], and a very good source of [[vitamin B6]], [[vitamin C]], [[niacin]], [[potassium]], [[copper]], and [[manganese]]. Taro corms are very high in [[starch]], and are a good source of [[dietary fiber]]. [[Oxalic acid]] may be present in the corm and especially in the leaf, and these foods should be eaten with milk or other foods rich in calcium so as to remove the risks posed by ingesting the oxalate ion, especially for people with [[kidney]] disorders, [[gout]], or [[rheumatoid arthritis]]. Calcium reacts with the oxalate to form calcium oxalate which is very insoluble. ===Romans=== Taro was used by the early Romans in much the same way the potato would later be used by Europeans. They called this root vegetable <i>colocasia</i>. [[Apicius]] mentions several methods for preparing taro. The text of Apicius seems to imply that the usual cooking method was to boil taro in water. Apicius suggests that a sauce be made from pepper, cumin, rue, vinegar, oil and [[liquamen]] to be served with chopped pieces of boiled taro.<ref>Apicius <i>De re coquinaria</i> 3.4.2</ref> Apicius also mentions recipes in which pieces of taro are cooked along with meat or fowl, similar to the manner in which potatoes are now used in European meat dishes. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the use of taro gradually ceased in Europe. This was largely due to the decline of trade and commerce, as most of the taro used throughout the Roman Empire had been grown and exported from Egypt. ===South Asia=== Taro is extensively used in [[South Asia]]. In [[South India]]'s [[Kerala]] state, it is used as a staple food, as a side dish, or as a component in various side dishes. As a staple food it is steamed, and eaten with a [[chutney]] of green pepper and shallot onions. The leaves and stems of certain varieties of taro are used as a vegetable in Kerala. A tree-growing variety of taro is extensively used in the western coast of India to make ''patrade'' or ''patrada'', literally "leaf-pancake". These are either made like fritters, or are steamed and eaten. In another South Indian state, [[Andhra Pradesh]], taro corms are known as 'chamagadda' and can be cooked in many ways, deep fried in oil for a side item with rice, or cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce with spices, onion and tomato. In the Indian state of [[Gujarat]] it is used to make [[Patra (dish)|patra]], a dish with the leaves of the plant prepared with tamarind and other spices. In [[Nepal]] and the Indian state of [[Uttarakhand]], it is considered a health food with a variety of cooking styles. The most common style is boiling it in salty water in iron cooking pots until it becomes like porridge. Another style is to steam the young leaves called 'gava', sun-dry and then store it for later use. For another variety, the taro leaves and stems are used raw as an ingredient for pickles. The leaves and stems are mixed with black lentils<!--black lentils or urad dal?--> and then dried as small balls called ''badi'' and used later on. The stems are also sun-dried and stored for later use. On one special day, women worship ''saptarshi'' (seven sages) and have rice with taro leaf vegetable only. In North India, it is also known by the name of ''arbi'' or ''arvi''. ===China and Hong Kong=== Taro (called ''yutou'', [[wikt:芋头|芋头]] or ''yunai'', [[wikt:芋艿|芋艿]]) is commonly used within [[Chinese cuisine]] in a variety of styles, mainly as a flavor enhancing ingredient. It is commonly braised with pork or beef. It is used in the [[dim sum]] cuisine of southern China to make a small plated dish called [[taro dumpling]], as well as a pan-fried dish called [[taro cake]]. It is also woven to form a [[seafood birdsnest]]. The taro cake is also a delicacy traditionally eaten during the [[Chinese New Year]]. In desserts it is used in ''[[tong sui]]'', [[bubble tea]], and as a flavoring in ice cream. ===West Africa=== Taro is consumed as a staple crop in West Africa, particularly in [[Nigeria]] and [[Cameroon]]. It is called [[cocoyam]] in [[Nigeria]], [[Ghana]] and Anglophone [[Cameroon]]. It is called [[macabo]] in Francophone [[Cameroon]]. ===Taiwan=== In [[Taiwan]], [[supermarket]] varieties range from about the size and shape of a [[brussels sprout]] to longer, larger varieties the size of an adult male's fist.<!--Large ones can be MUCH larger than this!--> Taro chips are often used as a potato-chip-like snack. Compared to potato chips, taro chips are harder and have a more assertive nutty flavor. They are generally made from upland taro because of their lower moisture. ===Japan=== In [[Japan]],it is called "Satoimo"(サトイモ).It is often used to simmering. The size and shape is like [[brussels sprout]]. ===South Korea=== In South Korea, it is called ''toran'' (토란) meaning "egg from earth", and the corm is stewed and the leaf stem is stir-fried. Taro roots can be used for medicinal purposes, particularly for curing insect bites. ===Vietnam=== In Vietnam, where taro is called ''khoai môn'' or ''khoai sọ'', it is used as a filling in [[spring roll]]s, cakes, puddings, soups and other desserts. ===United States=== In [[Hawaii]], taro is a traditional staple, as in many tropical areas of the world, and is the base for making ''[[poi (food)|poi]]''. In [[Chinatown]]s, people often use taro in [[Chinese cuisine]], though it is not consumed or popularized nearly as much as in Asian and Pacific nations. Since the late 20th century, taro chips have been available in many supermarkets and natural food stores. In the 1920's, dasheen, as it was known, was highly touted by the Secretary of the Florida Department of Agriculture as a valuable crop for growth in muck fields. Fellsmere, Florida, near the east coast, was a farming area deemed perfect for growing dasheen. It was used in place of potatoes and dried to make flour. Dasheen flour was said to make excellent pancakes when mixed with wheat flour. ===Philippines=== In the Philippines, taro is called ''gabi''. A popular rendition of the taro is [http://mcjlrabelchez75.multiply.com/recipes/item/2 Laing] (pronounced /lah - ing/) which originates from the Bicol region in Southern Luzon. The dish's main ingredients are [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpinpin/2303024507/in/set-72157604019353752/ taro stem and leaf] cooked in coconut milk, salted with fermented shrimp or fish ''[[bagoong]]''. It is also heavily spiced with red hot chilis called ''sili'ng labuyo''. Another dish where taro finds common use in the Filipino kitchen is the Philippine national stew, called ''[[sinigang]]''.<!--Isn't adobo the national stew?--> This sour stew may be made with pork and beef, shrimp, or fish. Peeled and diced taro is a basic ingredient of pork ''sinigang''.<!--Is is the large taro or the small taro that is used?--> Finally, the third most common use of taro in the Filipino diet is in ''ginataan'', literally meaning "cooked with coconut milk." This form of dessert, where coconut milk and taro are combined along with indigenous ingredients such as sago and jackfruit, is shared throughout most Southeast Asian cuisines. ===West Indies=== Taro is called Dasheen in the [[West Indies]] is cultivated and consumed as a staple crop in the region. ===Turkey=== Taro is grown in the south coast of Turkey, especially in Mersin and Antalya. It is boiled in a tomato sauce or cooked with meat, beans and chickpeas. ===Cyprus=== In Cyprus, taro has been in use since the time of the Roman Empire. Today it is known as "kolokassi" which is similar to the name the Romans used: <i>colocasia</i>. It is usually stewed with celery (and sometimes meat) in a tomato sauce. Taro also grows on [[Ikaria]] island; Ikarians credit the taro for saving them from famine during [[World War II]]. ===Suriname=== In Suriname the taro root is the base for the popular Surinamese dish [[pom]]. ==Cultivation== Taro can be grown in [[paddy field]]s or in upland situations where watering is supplied by rainfall or by supplemental irrigation. Some varieties of taro can also be grown away from the tropics. ===Hawaii === {| class="wikitable" align=right style="clear:left" ! colspan=2|Top Taro Producers - 2005<br>(million metric ton) |- | {{NGA}} || align="right" | 4.0 |- | {{GHA}} || align="right" | 1.8 |- | {{CHN}}|| align="right" | 1.6 |- | {{CAM}} || align="right" | 1.1 |- | {{CIV}} || align="right" | 0.4 |- | {{PNG}} || align="right" | 0.3 |- |'''World Total''' || align="right" | '''9.2''' |- |colspan=2|''Source: <br>[[UN Food & Agriculture Organisation]] (FAO)''<ref>[http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/form?collection=Production.Crops.Primary&Domain=Production&servlet=1&hasbulk=0&version=ext&language=EN Faostat]</ref> |} Taro is usually grown in pondfields called ''lo{{okina}}i'' in Hawaiian. The picture below shows several small ''lo{{okina}}i'' in [[Maunawili, Hawaii|Maunawili Valley]] on [[Oahu]]. The ditch on the left in the picture is called an ''{{okina}}auwai'' and supplies diverted stream water to the ''lo{{okina}}i''. Cool, flowing water yields the best crop. Some of the taro plants in the foreground have been harvested and the caretakers are preparing to replant the ''huli'' stacked at their feet. These are the top portion of the corm with a short piece of bladeless leafstem. Typical dryland or upland varieties (varieties grown in watered but not flooded fields) in Hawaii are ''lehua maoli'' and '''bun long''', the latter widely known as Chinese taro. ''Bun long'' is used for making taro chips. ''Dasheen'' (also called "eddo") is another "dryland" variety of ''C. esculenta'' grown for its edible corms or sometimes just as an ornamental plant. The Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service puts the 10-year median production of taro in the Hawaiian Islands at about 6.1 million pounds (2,800 t; Viotti, 2004). However, 2003 taro production in Hawaii was only 5 million pounds (2,300 t), an all-time low (record keeping started in 1946). The previous low, reached in 1997, was 5.5 million pounds (2,500 t). Yet, despite generally growing demand, production was even lower in 2005: only 4 million pounds, with ''kalo'' for processing into ''poi'' accounting for 97.5%.<ref name="Hao">Hao, 2006</ref> Urbanization has driven down harvests from a high of 14.1 million pounds (6,400 t) in 1948. But more recently the decline has resulted from pests and diseases. A non-native [[Ampullariidae|apple snail]] (''Pomacea canaliculata'') is a major culprit in the current crop declines. Also, a plant rot disease, traced to a newly identified species of the [[Fungus|fungal]] genus, ''[[Phytophthora]]'', now plagues crops throughout the state. Although pesticides could control both pests to some extent, pesticide use in the pondfields is barred because of the clear opportunity for chemicals to quickly migrate into streams and then into the ocean.<ref name="Viotti">Viotti, 2004</ref><ref name="Hao"/> In early April 2008, the Hawaiian House Agriculture Committee voted 9-3 to send a bill to the full house that would put a 5 year moratorium on genetic modification of taro in Hawaii. This moratorium would only apply to Hawaiian varieties of taro, thereby allowing genetic alteration of non-native species. This would include possible alteration to Chinese varieties, which are currently being grown in Hawaii, giving rise to an opportunity for cross-pollination. ===Fiji=== Although taro has been a staple of the Fijian diet for centuries, its growth as a commercial crop can be said to have begun in 1993 when the taro leaf blight decimated the taro industry in neighboring Samoa. Fiji filled the void and was soon supplying taro to the large Polynesian populations of New Zealand, Australia, and Los Angeles in the United States. Almost 80% of Fiji's exported taro comes from the Island of [[Taveuni]]. Currently, the Fijian taro industry is under threat from the taro beetle, with the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) conducting research into how best to control this pest. ===Puerto Rico=== In Puerto Rico it is used in stews, soups and as a potato. It is used in local Puerto Rican dishes such as [[pasteles]], [[alcapurria]], [[sancocho]] and [[mondongo]]. In pasteles, taro is ground with green bananas, plantains into a dough-like fluid paste containing pork, ham and boiled in a banana leaf or paper wrapper. In alcapurrias, it is also ground with green bananas and made into fried croquets containing ground beef or the chopped ham and fresh pork mix used in pasteles. The sancocho and mondongo dishes are soups. ==See also== *[[Aquatic plants]] *[[Limahuli Garden]] ==Images== <gallery> Image:taro_fields.JPG|One of the largest taro growing areas in the [[Hawaiian Islands]] is the [[Hanalei, Hawaii|Lower Hanalei Valley]] Image:Kalo_Loi_Harvest.jpg|Several small lo{{okina}}i or pondfields in which taro (or kalo) is being grown in Hawaii Image:Tarocorms.JPG|Taro corms Image:P1080339.JPG|Another variety of taro Image:Colocasia esculenta dsc07801.jpg|Taro corms for sale </gallery> ==Notes== {{commons|Colocasia esculenta}} {{reflist|2}} ==References== *Hao, Sean. 2006. "Rain, pests and disease shrink taro production to record low". ''Honolulu Advertiser'', February 2, 2006, p. C1. *[http://www.nokaoimagazine.com/Features/v.11n.5/The_Future_of_Kalo.html "The Future of Kalo"] [[Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine]] Vol.11 No. 5 (August 2006). *[http://www.nokaoimagazine.com/Features/v.11n.4/Powered+by+Poi.html "Powered by Poi"] [[Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine]] Vol.11 No.4 (July 2007) *Stephens, James M. 1994. Dasheen &ndash;&ndash; ''Colocasia exculenta'' (L.) Schott. Fact Sheet HS-592 from a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. May 1994. [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MV059 edis] *[http://www.green-seeds.com/taro.html Taro climate] at Green-Seeds.com (taro growing methods) *[http://www.fijitaro.com/taro/history.html Taveuni Taro] at fijitaro.com (Fiji taro industry history) *Viotti, V. 2004. ''Honolulu Advertiser'', March 16, 2004. *Wagner, W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. ''Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i. Revised edition''. Vol. 2. Univ. of Hawei‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press. p. 1357. [[Category:Araceae]] [[Category:Root vegetables]] [[Category:Leaf vegetables]] [[Category:Tropical agriculture]] [[Category:Staple foods]] [[Category:Japanese ingredients]] [[zh-min-nan:Ō͘-á]] [[ca:Taro]] [[de:Taro]] [[es:Colocasia esculenta]] [[fr:Colocasia]] [[ilo:Aba]] [[id:Taro]] [[it:Colocasia esculenta]] [[la:Taro]] [[lt:Kolokazija]] [[nl:Taro]] [[ja:タロイモ]] [[pl:Taro]] [[pt:Taro]] [[ru:Таро (растение)]] [[fi:Taro]] [[sv:Taro]] [[to:Talo]] [[tr:Gölevez]] [[vi:Môn nước]] [[zh:芋]]