On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 593
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remoistened in desserts and drinks. Sweet
cassava varieties are less productive crop
plants, but have cyanide defenses only near
theirsurface,andaresafetoeatafterpeeling
and normal cooking. The root flesh is snowwhite and dense, with a bark-like skin and a
fibrouscoreusuallyremovedbeforecooking.
Cassava benefits from cooking in water to
moisten the starch before being fried or
baked.
FoodWords:Potato,Yam
PotatocameintoEnglishviatheSpanish
patata,aversionofthewordusedbythe
TainopeoplesoftheCaribbeanforthe
sweetpotato,batata.ThePeruvian
Quechuawordforthetruepotatoofthe
Andeswaspapa.Yamcomesvia
PortuguesefromaWestAfricanword
meaning“toeat.”
TaroandDasheenTaroanddasheenaretwo
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
calciumoxalate(40–160mgper100gm),and
depositsthemnearstoresofprotein-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
dissolvingthecrystals.
Taroiscommonlyfoundintwosizes,one
themaintuberousgrowthwhichmaybe
severalpounds,theothersmallersidegrowths,eachafewounces,andwitha
moistertexture.Thefleshismottledby
vesselspurplishwithphenoliccompounds;
duringcookingthephenolicsandcolordiffuse
