So I only learned this skill recently….and I’m old. My excuse is that, for a Samoan girl, I’ve never reeeeaally been a fan of taro.
But apparently, as us Samoans start to age, our primal instincts rise more to the surface and we begin to crave the food of our elders and ancestors, so… taro.
This is probably why I suddenly needed a chunk of coconut cream taro (fa’alifu kalo) on my plate the other night, and why I had to swallow my pride and ask my elderly mother how to make it.
But even before that, I had to learn how to pick a good taro at the shops.
Here’s what I found out.
How does the taro look?
Taro comes in a lot of varieties and colours – pink, white, purple, etc. – but whatever its variety, you want to make sure the surface of the taro looks even and relatively uniform.
With some practice, you’ll learn the difference between the normal colour patterns on the taro and the discolouration that happens when the taro is not fresh.
How does the taro feel?
When you pick up the taro, it should feel dense and weighty for its size.
Make sure it passes the ‘finger-flick’ test: When you flick the taro a few times, it should sound full (not hollow) and feel firm.
You don’t want a taro that has soft or mushy spots.
Check the tiapula
Finally, look for the end of the taro that was once connected to its stem. It’s the part that is noticeably different in texture from the rest of the taro.
Samoans call this the tiapula – if you separate this part and plant it, you can grow a whole new taro from it.
Anyway, make sure the tiapula looks freshly cut and still healthy.
If your taro passes all these checks, you’re good to go!
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