Variation in the cooked and chipping quality of taro

Abstract

Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] corms from 57 vegetatively propagated cultivars were evaluated for yield, physical and chemical characteristics, and either microwaved, microwaved and ground into poi, or fried. Poi color ranged from purple to orange or yellow and the dry matter content from 18.3 to 48%. The taste panel preferred poi made from a number of other cultivars than that made from the most common cultivar 'Lehua Maoli' used in Hawaii, and a darker bluish-red poi was preferred. Corm total soluble solids were positively correlated to corm specific gravity and dry matter, and to the taste preference of microwaved corm and poi. The fried cultivars varied widely in yield and corm color varied from cream to white. Additionally, some cultivars did not have purple vascular bundles, and others were acrid after frying. Chip oil content was negatively correlated to corm weight, dry weight, and chip yield. The 'Bin Liang' cultivar was judged the best overall in fried chip taste. Considerable variation in corm yield and quality characteristics existed in this widely cultivated vegetatively propagated tropical crop.