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Florida Gardening

Elephant Ears For Food

11 years ago

My neighbor is from Banglalesh, her mother is staying here for a while (maybe forever). Anyway, her mother likes to walk around my yard. She wants Elephant Ear leaves for cooking (and she is welcome to them). Does anyone else here cook Elephant Ears? I think she cooks them with Jalapena peppers. We talk and I don't understand a word she says nor does she understand me, it's interesting.

her saris are beautiful.

theo

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Comments (5)

writersblock (9b/10a)
11 years ago
Hmm, I'm not at all sure that our elephant ears are edible. Some varieties are, but others are extremely toxic. Wouldn't do it unless you know for sure you've got taro rather than one of the ones that's chock full of calcium oxalates.
theoj
Original Author
11 years ago
Since this lady has been back for more Elephant Ears since she has been here, it would seem that she knows what she wants. As I understand it, Elephant Ears are Alicasias but not all Alicasias are the same. I truly respect the knowledge of different peoples--she sees the other Alicasias with a different facial expression as the Elephant Ears. Not all language is in words. She has invited me over, however I don't plan to eat Elephant Ears, and I don't like Jalapenos.
theo
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yes! the leaves and tubers. both, are edible as I bought them from the indian store as a vegetable. I did read a long time ago about various types and if I remember, they are several genera( and more species) in this collection? As I do not know too much about the edible factor for them, I stick to the edible ones from the indian store, Colocasia sp. ( maybe esculenta). The green stem and the purple stem. Where did you buy the tubers? You must make sure that they are edible ones. They are some that are ornamental ( the one with the dog picture are ornamental types , I think) As the oxalic acid content is pretty high in the leaves and tubers, you have to cook them really well. In India we cook steam them with brown sugar and Tamarind paste/lime juice along with indian spices to offset the oxalic acid crystals. The can really scratch your throat. My husband will not eat them as he is very sensitive. I do not seem to have too many issues. For that matter , Purslane, and some other greens, have a bit of Oxalic acid crystals. I love Purslane too. I cook them with lentils. Mm mm.
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Don't put table salt in your soil. Plants use osmosis to pull the get water/nutrients from the soil. Plant roots generally take up moisture by a type of osmosis through membranes in root cells. Osmosis is a natural process where water, passing through a semi-permeable membrane, moves from a solution of low levels of dissolved salts to one with a higher salt level. This process allows water to move from a solution of relatively low concentration (the soil moisture) into a solution of relatively high concentration (in the plant root cells) in an attempt to establish equilibrium in the two solutions. This continues until the plant cells become full, or turgid. IF you place salt in the soil then the soil has the higher concentration. If the soil moisture is moderately saline, the plant has to work harder to absorb water from the soil. With lack of water, the plant soon begins to wilt, and growth is slowed, with reduced yields. In highly saline moisture concentraions, the process of osmosis can become reversed. Where the solution outside the plant roots is higher in salt concentration than that of the root cells, water will move from the roots into the surrounding solution. The plant loses moisture, and so suffers stress. This is why symptoms of high salt damage are similar to those from high moisture stress: leaf tip dieback margins yellowing, scorched and turning brown or black, followed by leaf fall of dead leaves Please bear in mind, I'm not speaking about Epson's salt which is magnesium sulfate not table salt (sodium chloride).
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To achieve full growth potential the Colocasia needs to be planted in the ground, not in a pot. These are aquatic plants and needs lots of water. Last summer I experimented by taking a large pot, and lining it with a black garbage back before filling it up with soil. I wanted zero drainage to simulate muck. The few Colocasia plants were thriving in this scenario, the problem was that the pot still needed to be watered daily even with no drainage and complete saturation. The transpiration rate is enormous due to the high surface area of the leaves. The bottom-line is these are very thirsty plants and it is difficult to keep them adequately watered for optimum growth. But luckily they tolerate less than ideal conditions, they just won't get as big or grow as quickly. x
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garyfla_gw
11 years ago
Hi
I've eaten both the roots and leaves and give me anything as a substitute lol They are a major part of the diet in tropical areas . Hawaii has the famous "poi"
Which in my opinion would make wonderful wall paper paste?? Of course I don't even like Guacamole or mashed potatoes . gary
tropicbreezent
11 years ago
The problem here is the use of the expression "Elephant Ears" without any qualification of what is actually being talked about. Species of Alocasia, Colocasia, Cyrtosperma and Xanthosoma are important foods for a very large part of the worlds population. They're almost like what potatoes are to the European/Western world. Although you don't say it, I assume you're talking about Colocasia esculenta. That's the only one that I know that people eat its leaves.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
11 years ago
Colocasia esculenta is a common food in most parts of the world. I've eaten some at a cuban restaurant in Ybor city and liked it a lot more than plantain.

Copied from Wiki "taro" article (which has cultural culinary info for a ton of different countries.):

Toxicity

The plant is inedible when raw and considered toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate[6][7] crystals, typically as raphides. The toxin is minimized by cooking,[8] especially with a pinch of baking soda. It can also be reduced by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight. Calcium oxalate is highly insoluble and contributes to kidney stones. It has been recommended to take milk or other calcium rich foods with taro.[9] Taro leaves also must be handled with care due to toxicity of the leaves, but are completely safe after cooking.[citation needed]

Culinary use

The corms, which have a light purple color due to phenolic pigments[10], are roasted, baked or boiled and the natural sugars give a sweet nutty flavor. The starch is easily digestible and grains are fine and small and often used for baby food. The leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C and contain more protein than the corms.

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