On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 593

remoistened in desserts and drinks Sweet cassava varieties are less productive crop plants, but have cyanide defenses only near their surface, and are safe to eat after peeling and normal cooking The root flesh is snowwhite and dense, with a bark-like skin and a fibrous core usually removed before cooking Cassava benefits from cooking in water to moisten the starch before being fried or baked Food Words: Potato, Yam Potato came into English via the Spanish patata, a version of the word used by the Taino peoples of the Caribbean for the sweet potato, batata The Peruvian Quechua word for the true potato of the Andes was papa Yam comes via Portuguese from a West African word meaning “to eat.” 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 sidegrowths, 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 ... 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 (4 0–160 mg per 100 gm), and. .. 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... calcium oxalate (4 0–160 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