Talas

Colocasia antiquorum var. esculentia (Java, tales; Malaysia and elsewhere, keladi or birah keladi). Many English people will recognize this by its Polynesian name of Taro. Herklots and others also call it Dasheen. The OED Supplement backs him in saying that this name is derived from French de Chine, which makes one wonder whether this is a bit of Louisiana French that got attached to the plant in the southern United States, where I believe it is grown a good deal. It was well known in ancient Egypt and ancient China. If you are living in a tropical or subtropical country, by all means try talas or taro as an alternative to rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams. There are many ways to cook it. I particularly like it boiled, like a floury potato, sliced and eaten with freshly grated kelapa muda; or sliced very thin and fried, like potato crisps. Make sure, though, that it is boiled or baked long enough to destroy the calcium oxylate crystals that form in some (not all) varieties. These can taste unpleasantly acrid, or even cause mild inflammation in the mouth and throat.