Fresh Thai Taro (Eddoe) 100g - Imported Weekly from Thailand

Fresh Taro Root Vegetable 100g

Thai Name: Puerk

The corm of the taro plant is the primary source of food although sometimes the leaves will be eaten also. The roots usually grow from the corm of these plants. Plants like these will store the nutrients in the corm of the plant to survive harsh weather like drought or cold harsh winters. It is mainly made up of starch.

This kind of food is very important in countries like Thailand where the weather can be very harsh and unforgiving. Thailand is not a rich country so unlike Western countries they can’t import most of their food. Luckily Taro thrives almost anywhere giving countries like Thailand the chance to grow it locally and keep it cheap and plentiful.

Taro is toxic in its raw state but this can be overcome by cooking or soaking it in water for 24 hours. Some good safety tips would be to wear gloves if handling the plant in its raw form. There is a chemical called calcium oxalate in the plant that can irritate the throat. As stated before, this is easily nullified by the cooking of the Taro. Here in Thailand people have been handling this food for generations so they know all the tricks when it comes to getting the most from taro.

You would be very surprised at the amount of different foods that can be made or improved by adding taro to the mix. In Thailand it is often used in soups to thicken the soup or just to add flavour. The early Romans used it in the same way the potato is currently used today. They would boil the taro and serve it with various things like meat and other vegetables. Thais use it in a number of desserts including the very tasty kanom pheuak. This is a Thai cake that makes a great dessert.

Best stored at room temperature

Fresh produce from Thailand.