Root Vegetable

Everything You Need to Know About Taro

Get to know a tropical tuber you might have been missing out on.

January 13, 2022
Photo by Bette Blau

Every week we get Down & Dirty, in which we break down our favorite unique seasonal fruits, vegetables, and more.

Today: Get to know a tropical tuber you might have been missing out on.

Taro

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If you thought Jerusalem artichokes were confusingly named, it turns out tropical tubers might be even more perplexing. Taro is a root vegetable, but it’s not one that typically shows up in the average American grocery store.

What Is Taro?

In Roots, Diane Morgan explains that “taro” is the common name for four different root crops: 1) malanga or American taro (Xanthosoma sagittifolium); 2) giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis); 3) false taro or giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza); and 4) true taro (Colocasia esculenta). 

True taro is what we are talking about today, but even once we’ve established that, the nomenclature can still be bewildering. Taro goes by a number of different names (satoimo, elephant’s ear, cocoyam, etc.), which is not all that surprising considering that, like all things, taro has its own name in every different place that it’s grown and that taro is grown in more than 40 countries. It's actually one of the world’s oldest cultivated plants, as Morgan elaborates: “References suggest that it has been domesticated for over five thousand years in tropical Southeast Asia, cultivated even before rice or millet.”

Taro is sometimes referred to as "taro root," too, but while we're getting technical, the part of the plant we eat that is grown underground (the leaves and leaf-stems are edible, too) is not the roots, but rather the corms and cormels.

Taro

There are more than 100 varieties of true taro, but in the continental U.S., you’re most likely to only come across two of them:

Dasheen (C. esculenta var. esculenta) is the variety shown throughout this post. It’s large—shown here next to a clove of garlic (2, pictured above)—so large that you’ll sometimes find it sold cut in smaller sections. Once cooked, its flesh is drier and more crumbly than that of eddoe. 

Eddoe (C. esculenta var. antiquorum) is smaller, ranging in size from that of a fingerling potato to that of a large lemon. They are a little blander and more moist (sorry) than the larger dasheen. 

Both types have visible rings (1, above) running down the length of the corm, and although ours is fairly smooth, both dasheen and eddoe can have a shaggy exterior. Neither type is likely to be labeled by name, but you can easily distinguish between the two visually. Recipes will often specify which type you're looking for, but if not (or if you can't find one or the other), they are similar enough in taste that most of the time you can use them interchangeably.

Taro

Where to Buy & How to Store

You can find taro at well-stocked grocery stores or Indian, East Asian, or Latin American markets. Choose firm specimens free from soft spots, mold, and cracks, and store them in a cool, dark spot for a few days. For most of us, a brown paper bag kept at room temperature will suffice, but a root cellar would be better if you have one. Like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, and other root vegetables, taro has a long shelf life.

How to Prep & Notes of Caution

Just a little FYI: Taro, in its raw form, is poisonous. Once cooked, it’s totally safe to eat, but even touching taro can cause severe skin irritation so it’s important to handle this vegetable carefully. Whether you plan to make roasted taro, fried taro chips, or taro pancakes, read these steps fully before you begin:

Put on a pair of gloves, scrub taro root well, and then remove the skin (4, above) with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler. We highly recommend y-shaped vegetable peelers for any peeling needs, but especially for hearty root vegetables that tend to put up a fight. Gloves are called for due to the presence of oxalic acid crystals, which can irritate sensitive skin. If you don’t have disposable gloves, coat your hands with cooking oil before peeling—and remember not to touch your eyes! Once the corms are peeled, cut or slice them (3, above) as needed for your intended use, and either use them immediately or place them in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration. Smaller eddoe are often cooked with the skin on and then peeled, which eliminates the need for gloves.

Please be advised: If those oxalic acid compounds can irritate the skin on your hands, imagine what they can do to your throat: Don’t eat taro raw, it needs to be cooked first. (That goes for the leaves and leaf-stems too.)

More: For a raw treat that's pleasant, not painful, try these Snack Balls with Apricots, Dates, and Cashews.

Taro flesh color can vary from creamy white or speckled (3, far above) to pale pink and purple. Whatever color you start with, though, know that depending on the preparation, you’ll likely end up with a less appetizing shade of grayish-purple sludge once it's cooked.

How to Cook with Taro

Now that you’ve learned how to safely prepare taro, it’s time to cook it! When you think of taro, you’ll likely first think of poi—the dish is popular in Hawaii and the Philippines, but it's very polarizing. In Vegetable Love, Barbara Kafka writes: "With the best will in the world, I cannot honestly give a recipe for poi, since I hate it." Poi opinions aside, taro is just as versatile as a potato and perhaps even more so. But what does taro even taste like? Once cooked, its sweet, nutty flavor is welcome in a wide variety of dishes, both sugary and savory. You can think of taro as a sibling to potatoes or sweet potatoes. In these Taro Shrimp Fritters, the savvy folks behind Red Boat Fish Sauce swapped out the sweet potato for taro for a slightly different flavor. “The taro is also lower in moisture than sweet potato, so the fritters stay crisp longer,” they explain.

Here are a few ideas to get you started with taro:

  • Shred taro and make fritters or crispy taro pancakes
  • Deep-fry taro to make chips or fries.
  • Taro can be mashed or puréed, but heed Elizabeth Schneider's warning: "Do not plan to simply boil and purée or mash it as you would potatoes: Taro is gluey without additional baking or frying to dry, aerate, or crisp the mixture." 
  • Cut taro into chunks and cook it in stews and soups. In Roots, Diane Morgan shares a recipe for Soba Noodles in Mushroom Broth with Taro and Kabocha Squash.
  • Taro can be turned into a paste that is then used in baked goods like pastries and breads.
  • It can even be used in desserts, like ice cream, cheesecake, and pie—try that with a regular potato!

Tell us: How do you like to eat taro?

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • SųĞą≡FıęŇđ
    SųĞą≡FıęŇđ
  • samrubeth
    samrubeth
  • steph
    steph
  • Clesh
    Clesh
  • marigael
    marigael
I like esoteric facts about vegetables. Author of the IACP Award-nominated cookbook, Cooking with Scraps.

20 Comments

SųĞą≡FıęŇđ April 2, 2023
I'm in Melbourne Australia & have always enjoyed a good cup of tea . I thought I'd try the boba/bubble teas and I was addicted to the taro on my first taste. Then I got one from another store that was chunky and had the consistency of chunky mashed potato which is an unpleasant surprise when you've never had taro paste bubble tea. So I googled it and remembered a friend from Samoa had told me about this giant bland potato that has no taste according to him but he said it was a staple for islanders and he also claimed that (taro) was the secret to why Polynesian peoples are all so big & strong....haha ...and said it was why he was skinny & not as strong as others.
I find it interesting that it's considered a savoury by some and it just goes to show the complexity of cooking & I have enormous respect for Asian cuisine.
I would love to share my take for taro paste ive been usung to make taro tea that is similar to powdered taro tea.

I wash 1kg taro, peel, dice into smaller chunks (wearing gloves) as it will give you dermataros 🫣 if you bare back it with your hands. I steam it untill its easy to fork..at least 15-30m. O ce cooked mash a bit and then add a can of coconut crm and can of sweetened/conden coconut milk . I add a little pinch of salt a tbs of glucose syrup and 3-4tsp of purple yam/ube flavouring and then i use a stick blender to puree it all . I usually freeze for a few hrs and sort of goes like soft ice cream. I keep majority of the paste in the freezer and a tub in the fridge that keeps for 5 days. I scoop 3 big spoonfulls into a 500ml cup and brew some red vanilla (thai tea) in one of thise tea for 1 kits and use 2tbs coffeemate creamer and sugar according to taste. I add sugar and creamer to the tea pot first and then 1½tsp of thai tea mix . Ill let you know what brand of thai tea as its great just on its own and id searched for a while to find a store that had some of the ingredients but the thai tea and the purple yam flavouring made all the difference & i highly recomend .
You can add coconut jelly or pearls
 
samrubeth January 19, 2023
Taro is indeed a plant that has many benefits. Every part of the taro plant can be used if you know how to handle it. There are also quite a lot of food and beverage menus that use taro as an option. I am very grateful for your blog which provides good education about taro. I love it. Maybe we can share some information about taro at https://taroindonesia.com/
Thanks a lot
 
steph January 13, 2022
As someone who was born and raised in Hawaii, I think it's important to note that homemade poi is several galaxies' distance in flavor and texture from store bought poi. I'd like to hear if Barbara Kafka has experienced it the way ancient Hawaiians, and today's locals, have made it.
 
SųĞą≡FıęŇđ April 2, 2023
Is poi a sweet & sour soup? The lady at the grocer was trying to tell me about a dish they have in Indonesia with taro that's strange but delicious . But there is some Asian foods that I find I can't stomach like whatever is in an Asian pork roll that others seem to love but a friend kept ordering a dish in China town in Sydney when we where setting up for the maritime exhibition. After getting it 3 nights in a row I asked what are you eating and he said the name of the dish but I said no what exactly is it and he said it was cooked turtle intestines after letting me try some and I didn't believe him and he called the waiter over and said can you tell this young man what I'm eating, he recognised it easily and said it's chinese name and then said "what' yoo..no..like turtle intestine? Whats wrong is it squirming around in belly...mmm yummy yummy turtle intestine in my tummy and I still wasn't sure if he was pulling my leg but it was funny. And if it was then where do I find turtle intestine haha
 
Clesh January 28, 2021
I was so fascinated to come across this article! I grew up eating Taro for breakfast - my mom simply pealed and steamed them and once ready she would sprinkle some sea salt and voila! We would then pair it with eggs and a cup of chai instead of bread. In swahili it’s known as “Ndoma” :-)
 
marigael October 3, 2017
I bake mine like a baked potato. I like the crispy skin so scrub all of the hairy stuff off and stick it in the oven until soft when I squeeze it. Absolutely delicious with a bit of butter and a sprinkle of salt. I eat skin and all. It is remarkably sweet but then so are potatoes when one is not used to eating potatoes. The flesh is a grayish color which does not bother me. It is not fluffy like a baked potato, rather it does lean towards that glue like texture so I tend not to mash it. Rather, I break it up with the side of my fork add the butter to the crevices and then pop one of those chunks into my mouth and it is a joy to eat.
 
Gil P. November 5, 2016
I use the Taro root to make what we call in Puerto Rico "Pasteles" and to prepare it so it does not turn into goo we squeeze as much of the starch of it after grinding it. We achieve this with use of cheese cloth. Then we apply the desired condiment and mix it with some either chicken or beef broth and in order to add color we add some oil which has been prepared with "Achiote". We then spread a large spoon amount onto a plantain leave and add in the center prepared meats, a chick pea, an olive, and a small strip of red pimento. Then it is rapped and tied. To kook it we boil it in water for for ~ 40 minutes. And it becomes a whole meal. Check in youtube content of "how to make taro (yuca) pasteles. and give it a try. BTW, the starch you remove from it can be use to starch your blue jeans or other applications.
 
LeBec F. January 28, 2016
My gateway to taro was through DimSum here in Boston. Deepfried taro 'footballs' with pork filling; and shredded taro coating on shrimp cakes. yummola! As a 52er, I've entered a few Taro recipes- some refreshing summer Smoothies and Taro, Shrimp and Bacon Fritters . I love the slightly sweet but nutty very unusual/unique flavor of taro. I have learned that I like the large variety with purple flecks in the flesh, and not the small ones.
 
Gary Y. March 1, 2015
Poi of course, like the Hawaiians eat it.
 
Sunday@FIve March 1, 2015
Does taro have to be boiled before fried/baked?
 
Lindsay-Jean H. March 2, 2015
Nope, it doesn't.
 
KellyinToronto March 1, 2015
I ove taro!! My mom makes a great stew with taro, coconut milk and spareribs with ginger and green onions. it's really good if you throw some Lap Chung in there too1
 
SųĞą≡FıęŇđ April 2, 2023
This sounds like the dish explained to me recently. Is your mum from Indonesia or Thailand
 
Betty March 1, 2015
Love taro!!
 
Amanda C. March 1, 2015
My grandma makes baked taro fritters with diced up Chinese sausage and scallions. My dad puts taro cubes in chicken curry. I enjoy eating this clear and sweet hot soup with taro, butternut squash, and hazelnuts.
 
Rachel C. March 1, 2015
A few years ago at a restaurant called Monkeypod in Maui, Hawaii, I had taro root hummus that was SO good! We told them they should start selling it at Trader Joe's and start a national obsession.
 
Lindsay-Jean H. March 2, 2015
I think it has a much better shot at national obsession status than peanut butter hummus does!
 
HalfPint February 28, 2015
Shaved ice with condensed milk, chunks of cooked taro, adzuki beans and cream is the most incredible dessert.
 
Lindsay-Jean H. March 2, 2015
That does sounds incredible!
 
Joy H. February 28, 2015
Thanks for linking to my blog! Another way I enjoy taro is in taro bubble tea and swirled into Hokkaido milk bread! http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2014/09/hokkaido-milk-bread-three-ways.html