Researching Colocasia esculenta (aka Taro) in the Southeast as a Sustainable and Alternate Crop

Variety Trials at Utopian Seed Project

Results & Discussion

The two years of variety trials have shown us that yield and corm count are highly variable across varieties, and have helped provide guidance in selected varieties most suitable for taro growing in our region. 

Total yield is important, but as noted in the farmer interviews (below), there is a market preference for large cormels and corms, so the average weight per corm is also important in terms of marketability. 

A challenge of the variety trial is that it is hard to standardize the propagation material size. As was noted in the on-farm trials (see below), propagation material size can have a serious impact on yield. Producing enough nursery stock of consistent size to do a large variety trial was challenging. Further work to assess yield based on more standardized planting material size would be beneficial. 

Given that limitation, results over the two years help paint a picture of suitable higher-yielding varieties. Korean and Lee varieties of taro (very similar, possibly the same) produce high quantities of smaller eddoes. 

Big Taro and Kai Kea produced consistently high yields and a much larger average corm size, making them good contenders for the market demand for larger corm size. 

Puerto Rico was extremely promising in 2023, but less so in 2024. We are doing further grow outs with this variety to get a better sense of its performance. 

A final note is that culinary qualities and winter storage qualities are also very important. For example, Lehua Maoli has lower yields but stores incredibly well, and Bun Long has purple fibers throughout its corm flesh, which is sought after by some chefs.     

On-farm Trial at Warren Wilson College

Results

Corm Size

Yields were highest in the treatments with medium corm size. A two-way ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in taro plant corm yields (p = [4.99e-06]). Tukey’s HSD Test for multiple comparisons found that the mean value of corm yield was significantly different between small & medium corms (p = 0.0000028], 95% C.I. = [-718.47324, -278.05210]) as well as the medium & large (p = 0.0036004], 95% C.I. = [87.54733, 519.47860]). There was no difference in yields between the pruned and non-pruned treatments. 

Figure: Corm size and overall yields

Plant Growth 

Height of plants was affected by corm size 0.01 A two-way ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in taro plant height when compared to corm size (p = [0.01]). Tukey’s HSD Test for multiple comparisons found that the mean value of plant height was significantly different between small & large corms (p = [0.009]), 95% C.I. = [-13.709651, -1.6082931]). There was no difference in plant height between the pruned and non-pruned treatments.

Figure: Corm size and average plant height in cm

Discussion

The results of this experiment show that small seed corms may be less vigorous in both overall corm yields as well as plant biomass/height. The strong yield results in the medium seed corm replicates are notable. It is unclear why these plants performed better than the large seed corm treatments, and this experiment should be replicated to confirm these results. One important thought is that this trial only weighed harvested cormels, not corms. Given the omission of the additional weight of the central corm, this could have significantly impacted the overall yield of the larger planting material vs. the medium.  

The results are positive for dual-cropping potential, where light leaf harvests don’t significantly affect final corm yield. 

NOTE: We planned to replicate this trial in 2024 and include an additional variety to verify the results. Warren Wilson College experienced total crop loss early in the season due to pest pressure. It is the first and only time we have heard reports of deer/groundhog eating taro. A similar trial was conducted at Elon University that showed different results, more in line with expectations i.e. large planting material translates to larger yields.   

On-farm Trial at Elon University

Results

Marketable Yield

The data shows that wider spacing (24") and larger corm starting weights (50–95g) consistently produce the highest yields. Conversely, the 6" spacing with smaller corms (17–29g) shows the lowest yield across the board. The average marketable yield per plant was 4.75 times higher when comparing small planting size at 6” versus large planting size at 24”. 

Tuber Size Trends

Average tuber weight increases with both spacing and planting corm size, with corms/cormels in the 30–49g and 50–95g categories at 24" spacing giving the largest average tubers.

Discussion

The data suggests that we should be recommending wider plant spacing and holding back larger pieces for planting material to increase yield. It is assumed that the effect of  wider spacing and larger planting material would level off at some point. It would be useful to assess where that point is. Spacing trials for 18” and 36” treatments across different varieties could be extremely useful.   

Farmer Interviews

LINDY ABRAMS

At Ruff’ton Roots Farm in Rutherfordton, NC (7b), Lindy has been growing Korean taro for 10 years, working with Yanna Fishman on cultivation and culinary education. Ruff’ton Roots grows for a municipal public garden program, with both a learning garden for visitors and food production destined for non-profit food pantries in town, and prepared meals at a community food kitchen. All farm work is done collectively, and taro is planted and harvested on the same day as the rest of the tropicals–turmeric, ginger, and yacon. About 1 in 10 of Lindy’s Korean taro plants bloom every year, offering a special treat for visitors to the learning garden. Ruff’ton’s team also pots up about 20% of their taro to distribute to home growers, with an informational leaflet.

While growing more taro and more varieties of taro would be of interest, before expanding, Lindy wants to have a system in place to ensure that the knowledge is there for both the community kitchens and the broader community, to make sure people can enjoy the crop. Feedback from folks in the community kitchen has been welcoming on flavor, similar to potatoes, but kitchen staff found it more labor-intensive to prepare. Finding varieties with larger corms, bringing in folks with regional foodways experience to help educate staff and home cooks, and learning labor-saving techniques for preparation would allow for expanded growing. The ability to offer a starch food that isn’t a nightshade and also fits with specialized diets for those needing to moderate glucose levels is a real strength, and Lindy hopes for concrete informational resources about this that can be offered to customers.

LEON BIRSTEIN

At Full Circle Family Farm in Black Mountain, NC (7a), Leon grows turmeric, corn, and sweet potatoes and sells directly to customers and local grocers. He’s been growing Korean taro for several years, primarily for home consumption. Leon’s farm is fully off-grid and irrigates with a gravity-fed system. The taro has been allowed to overwinter each year and come back. While he has sold to the local co-op, customer education and corm size limited how much the co-op was able to sell. With limited labor, comparing the price per pound for a crop like turmeric, which has similar growing and harvesting needs, has made taro seem like a more challenging crop from a financial perspective. Having larger varieties, more similar to what customers are familiar with, could be a plus. Leon grows taro in 3 rows down a 100-foot-long bed alongside his sweet potatoes. After the sweet potato harvest, their foliage is pulled over as mulch on top of the taro bed.

MICHAEL CARTER

At Carter Farms in Orange County, Virginia (7b), Michael does both non-profit agricultural education work and grows traditional African, Caribbean, and Asian crops for specialty markets. Carter Farms grows taro for leaf production, rather than roots. While living in West Africa, Michael observed how cocoyam leaves were bundled and sold, and harvested them at the same size for his markets. As one of the primary cooking greens in Nigeria and Ghana, small and medium-sized leaves (less than a foot long) were bundled together for sale. Michael’s no-till farm grows without pesticides or herbicides, relying on landscape fabric for weed control and soil warming. Taro is planted to fit the 6-8 inch holes, spacing that works well for leaf production. Michael dedicates approximately a tenth of an acre to taro greens production, distributed between the tunnel and field, and sells half-pound bundles of leaves. Among his markets, there’s demand for taro root as well as leaves, but Carter Farms fills a specialty niche as the only grower of taro greens and has chosen not to sell the roots at this time. While about 70% of Michael’s customers are already familiar with taro greens, he does customer education for those who need it.

ROXANNE MASTERS

At Roots and Earth Farm in Fairburn, GA (8b), Roxanne grows taro as a primary food crop for her own family and sells plants as part of her nursery business centered on culturally significant annuals, edible perennials, and herbs. She has tried taro in different microclimates and landscape locations and finds that it tolerates partial shade, but does not thrive without access to irrigation during hot and dry conditions. It has overwintered outdoors at lows of -5°F. Roxanne grows several varieties, including Korean, Hawaiian, Japanese Araimo, Puerto Rican, a grocery store variety (H Mart), and experimental varieties from the Utopian Seed Project. Japanese Araimo is the variety that blooms in her gardens. Roxanne finds tremendous community interest both in landscaping plants that are edible (particularly in neighborhoods with restrictive covenants related to using yards to grow food crops) and in connecting community members to the foodways of Black communities in the Caribbean.

Roxanne’s family is originally from Jamaica, where she grew up eating cocoyam. While taro leaves were not commonly eaten, they were in Trinidad, and she learned to use them from Trinidadian friends, and now shares recipes for taro leaves with family and friends. Roxanne explained that in Jamaica, taro root is used in soups and stews with other root crops, as well as steamed and mashed like fufu. When she shares her experience with customers and community, she explains how taro can substitute for starches like rice. For her, the market for taro as a nursery plant fits well in her business model, where she can show visitors the plants in the garden, teach them how to use it in the landscape and the kitchen, and then make plants available with information they can take home. In her own home, Roxanne appreciates connecting her children to her Jamaican foodways by growing and eating taro as a family.

ZACK ELFERS

At Future Forest Plants in Airville, PA (7a/7b), Zach has grown taro for sale to local chefs and home use, and is considering expanding to grow it as a market crop. The main constraint on this endeavor is access to enough seed stock and the need for irrigation. While Zach’s dry-farmed taro produced well during seasons with adequate rainfall, it did not thrive during periods of drought. Interplanting with sweet potatoes has allowed Zach to double crop in the same space, with just slightly wider spacing. Sweet potato size is somewhat constrained, but they were still marketable–he recommends planting at the same time so the sweet potatoes aren’t out-competed. Zach generally grows taro in staggered rows with approximately 16 inches between plants and rows.

At home, Zach’s family loves taro. They boil the corms with the skin on, then squeeze out the flesh, mash, and add salt and maple syrup. They’ve also eaten it fried. When cooking the greens, Zach first blanches them and tosses out the cooking water, then fries or sautés them as with other cooking greens. Marketing to chefs was straightforward if their menus were Asian-inspired or if they already knew the crop. New chefs were curious, but less likely to buy larger quantities if the taro was destined for one specific dish on the menu.

YANNA FISHMAN

In Union Mills, NC (7b), Yanna grows on about half an acre for home use, teaching, and maintaining seed stock of several crops to support the mission of the Utopian Seed Project, of which she is a founding board member. Tropicals are an important part of Yanna’s seed work, and she maintains a dozen varieties of taro, including several varieties for distribution to growers around the Southeast, like the Korean and Hawaiian taro grown by most of the farmers we interviewed. Yanna finds that taro responds best to rich soil with adequate water during the growing season. She grows in beds about 3 feet wide with plants in two staggered rows. At harvest time, Yanna cuts the leaves before digging, hoses the roots before bringing them in, and cures them as one would with garlic, before storing. In her naturally cool, earth-bermed storage space, Yanna keeps taro in ventilated plastic bins at about 55°F and 50% relative humidity.

In her own home, Yanna steams taro, rinses and peels it, then boils or pressure cooks it for 10-15 minutes, drains, and stores it in the refrigerator, where it can easily be accessed to roast, fry, or add to other dishes. She shares that there are different opinions about whether cooking in the skin can change the flavor, but steaming makes the skin fast and easy to remove. If skins are removed immediately after cooling, there may be less impact on flavor. Like other growers, Yanna has found that chefs and cooks who are familiar with taro are eager to use it and do not need support and guidance, but those who are not appreciate information about handling and preparation. Yanna has been growing and learning about taro for many years and continues to experiment, explore, and support growers and eaters.

BEN GEIGER

At Garden Windows Farm in Denton, NC (8a), Ben grows year-round on about an acre for chefs, markets, food hubs, and a small CSA. Every year, he dedicates space in the farm’s low-till, permanent bed system for a few experimental crops. In 2024, he tried Korean taro without supplemental irrigation, growing in a single row, 50-foot bed, with 24 inches between plants. Ben found the main challenge from a growing perspective was fitting taro’s long season into the farm’s orientation toward crops with a quicker turnover. The taro was low maintenance and low labor, but took up field space for three seasons.

Ben sold the full crop between a brewery (making a taro beer for a farm-to-table event) and a chef who made a taro gnocchi that received rave reviews. Education was an important element of the sales process, and gave Ben some pause in considering expanded growth for farmer’s market or CSA customers. Both of his buyers had expected larger-sized taro, and Ben feels that a variety with bigger corms would be easier to market for chefs and home cooks. For the brewery, the surprise of smaller taro was beneficial, as it made the corms easier to process for the brewer’s intended use.

SHERRI GREENE

In Shelby, NC (8a), Sherri of Greene Family Farm grows turmeric and ginger for the Foothills Farmers Market. Sherri’s trial-taro thrives and overwinters mulched on the north side of a structure, serving dual purpose as a beautiful landscape plant. Primary constraints on expanded field growing include labor and culinary education.

DONGPING HAN

Author and retired Warren Wilson professor Dongping Han grows taro in the large garden at his home on the Warren Wilson campus in Swannanoa, NC (7a). Dongping grew up in Shandong, China, and shared his memories of growing and harvesting taro in his rural community. The late-autumn harvest window for taro aligns with the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, and fresh taro is a staple part of the celebration, bringing luck. Dongping says that in China, taro is not distinguished by variety but by region of origin. Certain regions are known for growing the best taro, because of their soils, and could command higher prices at market. In China, many rural families grew taro for home use, and Dongping has been growing taro in his large garden for decades, since coming to the United States. He shares prepared taro dishes with students and colleagues on campus.

TAYLOR HOLENBECK

Taylor works as the Grower Services Coordinator for Happy Dirt Farms and grows taro in his home garden in Durham, NC (8a), in well-amended raised beds with partial sun. Last year, Taylor pre-sprouted the taro in April in a cold frame and planted it out after about 4 weeks, successfully intercropping it with tomatoes and peppers. The experiment was due to space constraints, but both taro and nightshades were happy with the arrangement. Taylor’s been experimenting in the kitchen, peeling the taro and cooking it like a potato. A recent lentil soup with taro was delicious, and Taylor noted the stewed taro had a satisfying texture similar to a roux. He hopes that more farmers and customers will grow and use taro, and that more products like taro flour can be made and marketed in the Southeast.

CHUE AND TOU LEE

At Lee’s One Fortune Farm in Marion, NC (7a/b), Chue and Tou grow for the Hmong refugee community that settled in Western North Carolina after leaving Laos in the years following the Vietnam War. The Lees grow many traditional food crops and sell them to the Hmong community. Families grow 50 to 60 lbs of taro a year for their households, with a few farmers growing several hundred pounds to serve community members who don’t have access to their own garden spaces. The Lees build organic matter with wood chips, chicken litter, and mulch. Tou tells us that taro loves warm, moist, rich soil, so they choose the warmest spots, even if they have some shade, and can use areas that might be too wet for other crops. The Lees have successfully intercropped taro with chayote and bitter melon, reporting that it helps break up the soil and doesn’t mind being shaded by the vines. Normally, the eddoes are eaten, and the mother is saved for replanting. In addition to a white taro, the Lees also grow a rare purple taro, only used for special holidays, as it produces less, as well as a green taro that is grown for the leaves. The green taro must be planted separately from the white because the plants are hard to tell apart, even for experienced growers. Chue identifies the green by rubbing the stem with her fingers, which has a white powdery residue.

Selling taro to the broader community is a challenge, as it takes a lot of customer education and even with warnings, people will sometimes forget and eat it raw–a difficulty reported by several growers. Chue and Tou started bringing it to the farmer’s market as prepared samples two years ago and are working to introduce it to the Asheville community.

Tou told us, “As a young child, I can remember…we’d harvest it, the older family members would steam it, and when you peel it, it's got a wonderful sweet, nutty, honey aroma to it, almost like a sweet potato. As a kid, that was a snack or dessert that you longed for because it's only a couple of times of year that you have an abundance, so it's something we always look forward to. Another dish we long for is a bubble tea with taro, steamed chunks of taro inside that take the place of tapioca pearls. It's really good. It gives you a nice chew and a nutty, sweet flavor.”

MILLARD LOCKLEAR

At New Ground Farm in Pembroke, NC (8b), Millard has been farming for nearly a decade on land that has been in his family for almost a century. The farm grows wholesale fresh produce for natural grocers and distributors, and tried taro for the first time in 2024. Millard used the same equipment and systems as for Irish potatoes, trenching about 8 inches deep and then hilling. He planted about 7 lbs of seed and harvested 86 lbs of taro, which are being saved for replanting. In the first trial year, Millard did no soil amendments and grew the taro without irrigation, including through two months in early summer with no rain. In 2025, he plans to irrigate and fertilize on the same schedule as Irish potatoes, planting in mid-March. Because wholesalers require larger quantities, the full crop was saved for seed, echoing the challenge for growers looking to scale up.

PHILLIP NOGUERAS

In Burnsville, NC (7a), Phillip has been growing taro for home consumption experimentally for the past two years. The trial taro was dry-farmed in a 25-foot bed with plants spaced 8-12 inches apart, in two rows. The plants were resilient and grew well without irrigation, despite a prolonged drought, but the yield was relatively low. Phillip cooks both taro root and leaves, stir-frying the leaves like spinach or collard greens, and making roast fries or mashed taro with the root. The similarities to white potatoes in terms of cooking methods are appealing, and the fact that folks who can’t eat white potatoes or nightshades can enjoy taro is a great feature.

SANDI OSTERKATZ

At Footnote Farm in Carrboro, NC (8a), Sandi has been growing Korean and Hawaiian taro from USP for two seasons. She is growing almost exclusively for CSA customers, but has also sold taro directly to her broader non-CSA customer community and a local bar focusing on “ground to glass” cocktails. She sells taro greens as well as roots. With a permanent raised bed system and plots that rotate each season, taro fits well in her tropical plot with turmeric, ginger, yacon, arrowroot, okra, and hibiscus, where everything is planted and harvested more or less on the same schedule. Like most of the growers we spoke to, Sandi harvests taro by cutting off the foliage and using a digging fork. In 2023, she experimented with overwintering by mounding excess seed stock of both Hawaiian and Korean taro side by side in the ground, finding the latter to be hardier, which has also been the experience of several other growers. She stores cured taro in ventilated plastic crates stacked in a conditioned interior space over winter, as well as unprotected in the ground, without losses.

Customer education has been less of a problem with CSA members, as her members are used to looking up new crop profiles in her CSA guide, but individual customers and restaurants require more careful explanation. At home, Sandi steams or boils whole taro, then peels and flash freezes it in chunks to use later in soups, baking, or roasted veggie dishes. The muffins she made using cooked taro as the main starch were a hit with her kids. In 2025, Sandi doubled her taro planting and is excited to try making taro flour.

JASON AND AMI ROLAND

On their small family farm in Lexington, SC (8b), Jason and Ami Roland grow almost exclusively for CSA. Their soil is extremely sandy, and the Korean and Hawaiian taro Jason has grown for the past two years would have preferred slightly heavier soil and more irrigation. Jason grew about 100 plants in a block at the end of a primary growing field. The Korean taro struggled significantly more than the Hawaiian taro on days over 90°F, regardless of watering. This heat intolerance seemed to weaken the plants and make them susceptible to pressure from mice and voles. The Hawaiian taro did not suffer from the heat or the pests, despite being planted in the same location. This experience with rodent damage was a rare report of pest damage in all our taro conversations.

Jason sold a few lbs of taro to a local chef interested in exploring the crop, and like other market growers, faces the need to either plan to save a significant amount for seed or find a supplier for larger amounts. They have recently moved to a new farm in the Piedmont of North Carolina, and plan to continue growing taro on their new land.

JACOB RUTZ

At Elon University’s Loy Farm in Burlington, NC (8a), Jacob has grown Korean taro as an experimental crop since 2023. Loy Farm is a one-acre student farm growing diversified fruits and vegetables for teaching, the dining hall, and local food banks. Taro fit well in the crop rotation–it helped break pest and disease cycles and was ideal for the farm’s schedule of student labor availability in spring and fall, but not over summer. It was grown in a 30-inch-wide, 100-foot-long bed, with 18-inch spacing between plants and fertilized minimally with Harmony and feather meal. In Jacob’s second year growing taro, he suspects a poorly drained planting location made for a less productive season.

In the student test kitchen on community garden days, Jacob’s students have made boba tea and vegan crab cakes with their taro, which were both a big hit. The dining hall used some of the mothers, but as a less familiar crop, there was a significant learning curve. They tried cooking with the greens but struggled to find a method that eliminated mouth irritation. Jacob is looking forward to growing taro again and hopes for resources on optimizing conditions for a more productive growing season, as well as learning new culinary techniques.

JAMIE SWOFFORD

At Old North Farm in Shelby, NC (8a), Jamie has been growing Korean and Hawaiian taro for several years as a market crop destined for the kitchens of area chefs. In a permanent raised bed system using minimal tillage and following organic practices, taro is grown in the same 30-inch beds as other crops, in a rotating block dedicated to root crops. With the same 18-inch spacing used by most of our growers on permanent 30” bed systems, Jamie got about 400 lbs of taro root from a 100’ bed and sells it in 5lb bags.

Chefs are excited for access to fresh taro and universally impressed with the depth of flavor, particularly compared to the potato. Some customer education is needed, and familiarity has been a primary limit to demand. Coming from a restaurant background himself, Jamie does demonstrations to show customers how to poach, peel, and then prepare taro root. Restaurant customers used taro for chips as well as roasting like potatoes, after poaching. Jamie’s favorite home preparation is to dice the taro after poaching and cook it in a cast-iron skillet. It was also delicious in a Ghanaian Groundnut Stew (Nkatsenkwan) recipe from Zoe Adjonyoh.

GWEN CASEBEER AND JAY ENGLEBACH

Black Trumpet Farm is a gourmet mushroom farm in Leicester, NC (6b), where Gwen and Jay have grown taro for several years as an experimental food crop, primarily for home use. While they have worked hard to improve their dense clay bottom land, one benefit is that once established, long-season crops need very little irrigation. Gwen and Jay find taro durable and low maintenance, as well as beneficial in their crop rotation (since it’s not a brassica or nightshade), with low pest and disease pressure. Sheet pan fries and mashed taro have both been tasty dishes in the home kitchen.

Culinary Outreach

General Culinary Notes

The entire taro plant contains calcium oxalate raphide crystals, which are often described as acrid in culinary descriptions. If eaten raw, it will cause intense itching and irritation to the mouth and throat. Taro must be cooked to be edible. This can create some intimidation in the consumer, but it is worth remembering that eating raw potatoes can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal distress. We hoped to analyze the different varieties we are growing for calcium oxalate levels, however, we were unable to secure a laboratory that could carry out this analysis for us. In addition, other factors can affect the levels of acidity. Cormels that have sprouted have been noted to have increased acridity, and some varieties have acrid mothers and edible eddoes. Chef Cleophus Hethington noted that his Grandmother’s ‘island remedy’ for eating undercooked taro was a spoonful of mustard seed oil. We also came across a reference to lemon juice in a little water as a solution. A final note on calcium oxalates is that there seem to be varying levels of sensitivity amongst individuals.  

Not all taro is created equal, and one of the things that makes the edible taro edible is the lower concentrations of calcium oxalate raphide crystals. There are a few basic cooking methods that make taro very accessible. If peeling before cooking, the calcium oxalates can irritate the skin, so gloves are recommended if you find yourself sensitive. 

Pressure Cooking

A pressure cooker or Instant Pot is one of the easiest ways to cook taro. The taro can be cooked submerged in water or in a steam basket. Beyond scrubbing any dirt off the skin, there is very little prep work ahead of cooking. Cook times will vary depending on the size of the taro pieces and the variety. I have cooked small Korean taro eddoes for just 12 minutes on high pressure at events before sharing them with attendees, but I will cook larger pieces for up to 40 minutes. We spoke with a cook from Hawaii who pressure-cooked larger mothers (4-5 lb pieces) for many hours. Once pressure-cooked, it is easy to peel/remove the skin, and the creamy inside almost pops out. The taro can be enjoyed like this, with a little salt and butter. It can be mashed into a creamy mashed taro. I have frozen taro at this stage for later use.   

Boiling/Steaming

Similar to pressure cooking, but the cook time will need to be at least twice as long. Note: Sometimes I will peel the taro and cut into cubes to include in a soup (see Yunanda Wilson’s Burmese Taro and Chicken Stew). The smaller pieces need much less cooking time than whole eddos/mothers.  

Frying

Taro can be peeled, grated, and fried like a hash. Sometimes I’ll parboil the eddoes to pop the skin off, then cut into slabs and fry until the outsides are golden brown (also works in the oven like potato wedges). . 

Roasting 

Roasting taro, much like any other roasted root vegetables, brings out some of the sweetness of the root. Taro can be peeled and sliced into cubes or wedges and roasted with a little oil and salt.  

Taro Pop-up, Whaley Brewery 

As part of this research grant, we organized a Taro Pop-up at Whaley Brewery, Old Fort, North Carolina in March of 2023. We invited 3 chefs to each prepare two taro dishes for members of the public to come and sample. We also used the event as an educational opportunity where we distributed taro planting material and talked to participants about taro!  

Chef Yunanda Wilson

Taro Thargu: Steamed taro, tapioca pearls, sweetened coconut milk

Taro Hinn: Chicken & taro curry, coconut rice, spicy pickled achira

Chef Jeremy Salig 

Taro with tapioca, coconut, candied turmeric, and hibiscus marinated yacon

Scalloped taro with bacon, pimento cheese, and wild onions

Chef Beth Kellarhalls

Taro Hand Pie with Peanut Anglaise

Taro Brandade Crostini (Salt Cod, Caramelized Scallions, Taro, Local Sourdough) 

Over 75 attendees came out on a cold, but beautiful, March day to experience and learn more about taro. 

Taro Demo Table with Sunil Patel

We host events called Trial to Table, where we bring around 150 people together to experience crops from our trials through the talented hands of local chefs. At these events, we also organize a Demonstration Table. The demonstration table aims to have a local chef or cook make an ingredient accessible. They prepare a very simple dish, share the recipe, and then give two live demonstrations during the event to introduce people to the ingredient and how to cook with it. In 2024, we invited Chef Sunil Patel to showcase taro at our demonstration table. He chose a simple dish that he’d learned to cook from his time living in Japan. We encourage participants to be open to buying and trying new types of vegetables!  

Trial to Table

In addition to the very specific Demonstration Table explained above, we often have taro and taro leaves on our pantry list that we offer to chefs for all of our Trial to Table events. Throughout 2022, 2023, and 2023, many chefs have selected and cooked with taro. Below is a summary of some of the dishes.

Chef Jamie Swofford 

Taro Pani Puri w/ Roselle Chutney & Coriander Water.

Sweet Potato & Taro Hash.

Chef Ophus

Creamy Broken Rice & Taro Grits: Green garlic, pickled collards, toasted okra, and benne. 

Chef Erica “Shorty” Glaubitz

Slad phak rak (root vegetable salad): kale, arugula, bok choy tossed with yacon and roasted Taro root and Murasaki seasoned with my spice mix, drizzled with a kaffir lime leaf vinaigrette and topped with candied ginger.

Chef Sunil Patel

Taro, parsnip, carrot, sochan & yardlong bean with pork belly in a miso broth.

Chef Awo Amenumey

Gari Fortor Croquettes – Gari (Cassava granules), Corned Beef & Egg Tomato stew, Mixed greens (including taro greens).

Koliko: Taro & Sweet Potato Fritters, Taro leaves & Tomato Sauce with Agushi.

Chef Jeremy Salig

Sancocho -Caribbean Stew: Squash, sweet potato, taro, plantain, braised beef, chicken skin.

Chef J Chong

Sorghum three ways: sorghum congee, 5-spice sorghum pork, taro, pickled cucumbers, sorghum popcorn. J included taro chips with this dish, which she later recreated for a PBS State of Things: Rethinking Our Food System. 

Chef Chuck Cutler-Gutiérrez

Mushroom and squash stew, taro and potato knödel.       

Chef Mallory Foster

Taro filling, chocolate cremeux, benne seed, toasted mallow, marigold.

Chef Michelle Bailey

Turmeric Taro Crudo, Yam Tots, Achira Crema, Collard Stem Kraut, Okra Seed Dukkah, Winter Squash Jus.

Taro Ice Cream with The Hop

In some cultures, taro has an extra dimension - the dessert dimension! Taro mochi, taro donuts, taro puddings, and taro ice cream. In 2024, we partnered with The Hop, Asheville, North Carolina, to make a Taro Ice Cream, which they sold as a seasonal special. They are repeating in 2025.

The Hop also co-owns a bubble tea company called The Pop. They used extra taro in their bubble tea, which offers another outlet for local taro growers.