Taro and Dasheen Taro and dasheen are two of many names for tubers of a water-loving plant native to eastern Asia and the Pacific islands, Colocasia esculenta, which is in the arum family (as are calla lilies and philodendrons). Like other arums, taro contains protective crystalline needles of calcium oxalate (40–160 mg per 100 gm), and deposits them near stores of protein-digesting enzymes. The result is an arsenal of something resembling poison-tipped darts: when the tuber is eaten raw, the crystals puncture the skin and then the enzymes eat away at the wound, producing considerable irritation. Cooking overcomes this defensive system by denaturing the enzymes and dissolving the crystals.
Taro is commonly found in two sizes, one the main tuberous growth which may be several pounds, the other smaller side-growths, each a few ounces, and with a moister texture. The flesh is mottled by vessels purplish with phenolic compounds; during cooking the phenolics and color diffuse into and tinge the cream-colored flesh. Taro retains its shape when simmered, and it becomes waxy on cooling. It has a pronounced aroma that reminds some of chestnuts, others of egg yolk. In Hawaii taro is boiled, mashed, and fermented into poi, one element in the luau (p. 295).
Taro is sometimes confused with malanga, yautia, and cocoyam, tubers of a number of New World tropical species in the genus Xanthosoma, which are also arums protected by oxalate crystals. Malanga grows in drier soils than taro, is more elongated, has an earthier flavor, and more readily falls apart when simmered in soups and stews.