Benefits of taro include Far Northern growing conditions

Check out this nutritious alternative to potatoes that can be added to a number of dishes and grown all year round in FNQ.

Did you dislike Taro on your first experience? Cairnseye gardening expert Yvonne Cunningham explains why you should give it another go. Picture: Istock.

What vegetable can be grown in a pot on a balcony or in the ground, is a substitute for potato, will provide fresh greens all year, will look amazing in the front garden and is easy to grow?

Taro is a vegetable for all seasons.

The staple carbohydrate of Oceania, it will grow throughout the year in tropical areas and can provide nutritious meals all year. Taro is rich in fibre and including this vegetable as part of a balanced diet can contribute to good gut health and reduce blood-sugar levels.

Taro thrives in humid climates and is an ideal, all-year crop for Far North Queensland.

Yvonne Cunningham says taro can grow in the Far North all year round. Picture: ISTOCK

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Taro grows from a corm. It is a member of the aroid family and like all aroids it contains calcium oxalates and must be cooked to neutralise these crystals. Do not eat any part of the taro plant raw.

There are hundreds of varieties of taro, from India, Japan, China, South East Asia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Oceania. They are all delicious and have slightly different flavours and textures.

It is believed that the taro plant originated in India and spread throughout the tropical regions of the Pacific carried by traders and migrants.

The variety commonly grown in North Queensland is the Chinese variety Bun-long. It has creamy white flesh with purple flecks.

Taro needs to be cooked before eating, and can be added to a number of dishes. Picture: ISTOCK

The taro’s beautiful, heart-shaped, matte green leaves are a good spinach substitute but they must be cooked to remove calcium oxalates. They can be sliced and added to stir-fries, used to wrap and bake fish parcels, or filled with savoury rice and steamed. The green taro leaf stalks are a summer substitute for celery and can be added to stews or rice dishes.

Plant taro corms in deep composted soil in full sun individually or along rows in deep trenches.

Taro is a thirsty plant and will need to be watered every day in dry weather. For a continuous supply of taro, plant a few corms every month in fresh soil.

The hawk moth may lay eggs on taro leaves and her large caterpillars can completely eat a leaf overnight. However, the large caterpillars can easily be picked off when found or sprayed with a weak Neem oil solution.

Stagnant or foul water allowed to pool around taro corms can cause corm rot. For dry-land growing of taro, ensure the beds are free draining while the plants are kept moist but not soggy through regular flood irrigation. Of course in the wet season there’s no need to water at all.

If you didn’t enjoy taro on your first try, Yvonne Cunningham says it’s worth another go, but first you must understand the vegetable. Picture: ISTOCK

After talking to people who have tried taro and failed to enjoy it I can only say you have not understood the vegetable. Please have another go.

It takes time to get to know a new vegetable, how to select a fresh tuber when buying and how to prepare it. You would not eat a spongy apple or potato, so only choose taro tubers that are firm.

Taro is easy to grow and takes six to nine months to fully mature. The plant requires ample water and nutrients throughout its growing period.

Once harvested the tuber should be eaten as soon as possible. Taro has a short shelf life – seven to 10 days. Taro tubers will go soft and spongy very quickly. Fresh tubers should be hard to firm without wrinkling, discolouration or blemishes.

To prepare taro, wash the soil from one large tuber with a strong jet of water. It should be firm with the thin brown hairy skin intact. Any black or soft marks on the taro tuber will indicate root rot. This fungal disease often has a foul smell and can render the tuber inedible.

Peel the thin skin on the taro tuber, cut the tuber into 10cm pieces and place immediately into a pot of cool tap water to cover, and add the juice of a lemon and a teaspoon of salt. Place the saucepan on the stove, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Drain the cooked taro in a colander, then return to the saucepan. Mash the cooked taro and add one can of coconut cream, one teaspoon of white pepper, and optionally, the juice of a lemon and a teaspoon of chilli flakes. Mash again until the coconut cream and other ingredients are combined. The result will be a fine mash which can be eaten immediately or left in the fridge overnight and used to make taro cakes, taro bread, taro pastry or old-fashioned cottage pie.

This versatile vegetable can by used in all recipes as a substitute for potatoes. It can be baked, roasted or boiled – there are no limits to its use.

Originally published as Benefits of taro include Far Northern growing conditions