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Taro: how to plant and eat safely – Stuff.co.nz

Jul 3rd, 2017

RUSELL FRANSHAM

Last updated06:00, July 3 2017

RUSSELL FRANSHAM

Xanthosoma atrovirens, also known as yautia amarilla.

My garden is full of aroids. They include the philodendrons, arum lilies and amorphophallus with their purple-black, dead animal-smelling flowers. Most aroids are toxic to some degree but despite this, many are important food plantsin the tropics and subtropics, especially the taro clan.

The common edible taroin Pacific and Asian countries are cultivars of Colocasia esculenta although most Colocasia species are edible if cooked properly to remove the ghastly prickly calcium oxalate crystals.

But I love the genus Xanthosomawhich is the South American branch ofthe taro tribe and these have been a major component of traditional diets there for thousands of years.Of the 50-odd species, the largest is white malanga or malanga blanca (Xanthosoma sagittifolium).It has been a major food crop forcenturies throughout the tropical Americas, and more recently, in the Philippines and West Africa where it was introduced in the 16thcentury.

READ MORE: * Edibles & flowers that hide their poison * The most dangerous vegetables in NZ kitchens * Is this the world's tastiest kumara?

RUSSELL FRANSHAM

Xanthosoma sagittifolium, white malanga.

It is a very big, fast-growing plant with huge grey-green, arrowhead-shaped leaves. It reaches 2m high here andquickly forms a large tuberous corm with elongated horizontal hairy tubers growing from the central corm throughout the growing season. The white, starchy flesh has a crisp, waxy texture with a nutty, earthy flavour and it is either groundup as flour, or grated or sliced then fried, stewed or grilled.Not surprisingly, it is one of Latin America's most important staple foods and was an important part of the dietof the Inca civilisation.

Malanga flour is nowadays a popular hypoallergenic flour substitute andis commercially available in US supermarkets. The huge immigrant Latin population in the US is supporting large scale commercial production of fresh malanga in Florida and the Gulf States.

The huge quilted leaves make this a very dramatic landscape plant in my garden.It is too visually important to warrant demolishing for food, although the young, unfurling leaves make a very nice spinach-like stew or soup with chili, called callaloo in the Caribbean where it is a popular dish.

RUSSELL FRANSHAM

Just as popular in Latin Americais the yautia nigra, black malangaor blue tannia. It is also commonly known as violet taro (Xanthosoma violaceum) and is used in the same ways as white malanga. It is about a metre high. The stems and undersides of the leaves are purple-blue and the flesh is pinkish, turning blue-ish when cooked.

Both yautia nigra and white malanga grow well here in northern New Zealand,and are a dramatic sight in a warm garden like this one with their enormous quilted leaves. The young leaves are harvestedas they unfurl and are used as food in the same ways as Asian and Pacific taro.They contain the same calcium oxalate crystals as other taro but the lower concentrations make it easier to get ridof the prickliness. Boiled and mashed,and served like mashed potatoes,it is a favourite food throughout the tropical Americas.

Like the edible Pacific taro, Colocasia esculenta, these malanga species willbe cut back by light frost. Fortunately,the corms will survive though, andregrow in spring.

Unlike the Pacific taro, the Xanthosoma are relatively quick to cook.In the garden, they need good shelter from wind and will tolerate dappled shade as well as full sun.

Xanthosoma mafaffa is another very large American taro whichcan reach 2.5m in a sheltered spot. However, it is more tender to cold or windy conditions. Maffafa is completely deciduous in this garden and is alwaysthe first to be damaged by wind.

The smallest of our xanthosomas here is Xanthosoma atrovirens.It is a deciduous clumper about 60cm high with a mass of small tubers at the endof summer. These are sweeter and softer than the others, and have yellowish flesh.It is a popular home garden cropin the West Indies where it is knownas yautia amarilla.The attractive leaves are a smoky grey-green and quite sturdy. It reliablypops up every spring among the other ornamentals planted too close becauseI always forget it's there.

The hardiest Xanthosoma makea dramatic impact in sheltered northern gardens, recovering quickly from winter damage and if the clump gets too big they can be harvested for the table. What's not to like!

-NZ Gardener

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Taro: how to plant and eat safely - Stuff.co.nz

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