Like the onion, I have been around for so long (9000 years at least) that my mother, the original wild plant, is gone. I have learned to adapt to many different growing environments in the same way that I have learned to respond to many different names. From my immature leaves and shoots to my white, cream-colored or purple-gray flesh, most of me gets consumed. My prolific cultivation and harvest easily explain my use as a staple food throughout 33% of this planet. Once, just to show off, we proved we could yield over 1,000 bushels on a single acre of damp soil in just two years! Although I have 100 siblings and appear in shapes from oblong to round, we all come with a thick brownish ringed skin that is rugged and hairy. I de require caution as I contain toxic crystals of calcium oxalate, a sticky juice, just beneath my skin that can produce an allergic reaction if direct contact is made. A simple solution is to use gloves in my preparation or use running water when peeling my skin. You will need heat to consume me as my leaves and roots contain an indigestible starch that is neutralized when cooked. I have a high starch content, a sweet artichoke-chestnut taste and can be used in the same way as a potato. I have been boiled and ground and fermented into poi, sliced, dried, smoked, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in the umu pit. My leaves can be pureed, mixed with minced onion and coconut milk for umukai. I am rich in thiamin, vitamin C and potassium, low in protein, and rich in starch.
What am I?
Taro
Ginger
Yams
Cabbage
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