Xanthosoma...

[dbjay417]

certain varieties produce edible corm mass that in Puerto Rico at least are refered to as Malanga and Yautia. Its closely related to Taro. Via google, i have not been able to find much good information on growing the plants for the purpose of food. By chance, does anyone here have any experience with this crop?

In Puerto Rico we make a dish, that is essentially a hodge podge of tropical tubers and these corms, peeled and boiled, some times will boiled green bananas and/or breadfruit, served with salted cod fried up with onions.

Its very startchy, and very filling, and tubers tend to be cheap, so its easy to see why it would become a popular dish in places where money is not necessarily plentiful. Like most food dishes that result from poverty and creativity, its delicious.

I almost have everything needed to make this dish out in the garden, bananas, the breadfruit trees, cassava, and sweet potato. There are several more interchangable tubers like yams that can be used, but I'm mostly interested in this xanthosoma plant.

 

[GardeNerd]

No, sorry. But I believe members of California Rare Fruit Grower Association grow it. If you grow those other tropical and subtropical plants you mentioned, you should be successful.

Dave's Garden had some user ratings of it.http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2218/

 

[dbjay417]

LOL

I love how they say you have to cook it properly,as if peeling it and boiling it was some kind of mad science experiment, or delicate procedure.

 

[GardeNerd]

Well, there was a time when Europeans thought tomatoes would kill you.

I hope you are able to find enough info to have fun growing it. Good luck.