[Sca-cooks] taro

[Alec Story]

I don't think arrowroot is the same as taro.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowroot

On Feb 20, 2017 7:46 AM, "Susan Lord" <lordhunt at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> > Stefan wrote:
> >
> > Urtatim replied to me with:
> > <<< Taro, colocasia esculenta, qulqas in Arabic, appears in nearly every
> medieval Arabic-language cookbook i have seen, including some not yet
> translated into English, from ibn Sayyar al-Qarraq's 10th c. collection of
> 9th and 10th c. recipes from Baghdad to 13th c. cookbooks from al-Andalus,
> to cookbooks from Mamluk Egypt (1270-1600).>>>
> >
> > Wow. A lot more widespread than I thought and apparently more used. I'd
> only really heard it associated with the SW Pacific islands.
> >
> > <<< You have some of his recipes in the Florilegium under the Spanish
> spelling "Tugibi", in which "fat" is translated as *lard*, something no
> Muslim would ever touch. >>>
> >
> > Oh! Is this in some of the Spanish manuscripts? If so, was it known in
> Spain or were they just talking about it being cooked in other cultures? Is
> the translation wrong to call it "lard" or is the original Spanish(?) wrong?
> >
> > <<< My translation is still in rough form. Once i get the whole book
> translated, i'll be smoothing out all the translations. >>>
> >
> > What are your plans for it when you complete it?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >   Stefan
>
> My blog, "Medieval Spanish Chef Colocasia blog defines taro as follows:
> "Gr. kolocasia, L. Colocasia antiquorum or Colocasia esculenta Eng. taro
> or colocaia taro, arrow root, elephant ear. It is believed to be a native
> of India, where it was cultivated some 7,000- 10,000 years ago. It was of
> the earliest cultivated plants. It spread through the South Pacific and the
> Mediterranean, especially Egypt and Africa. Arabs brought it to Spain in
> 714 with sugar cane. The plant needs abundant water and takes from 7 to 18
> months to grow depending on soil conditions. It grows only in humid
> tropics, in wetlands or irrigated areas. The leaves and tubers, which look
> like potatoes, are eaten. Tubers are baked, roasted or boiled. They are
> rich in  vitamins and starch. Arabs added taro to lentils. They fried or
> boiled them to make a broth served with meat. One recipe calls for them
> being served with meat and yogurt. Taro can be made into a pudding. Ibn
> Razīn provides a variation of lentils with taro. It has been a common
> staple in numerous countries as the root contains easily digestible starch
> like the potatoIt should be eaten immediately once cut. It should not be
> eaten raw for the toxic content. After peeling, it is sliced and boiled or
> baked under ashes or an oven. As the potato, it can be served with a
> variety of foods.
> "Apicius mentions several methods for preparing taro, including boiling
> it, preparing it with sauces, and cooking it with meat or fowl. After the
> fall of the Roman Empire, the use of taro dwindled in Europe. This was
> largely due to the decline of trade and commerce with Egypt, previously
> controlled by Rome. Taro has remained popular in the Canary Islands. "
>
> [Kiple. 2000:I:218-229:474:475; II:1866; Ibn Razīn/Granja. 1960:377:29;
> and Perry. “Kitāb.” 200 : 1474:475]
>
> This blog also provides my adaption of the Fadalat recipe for lentils in
> hollandaise sauce, which calls for taro.
>
>
>
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