The Word of the Day is "Kalo"

Credit: Depositphotos.com/Steven Heap

Aloha mai kākou,

The word for today is…… “kalo” (kah low).  Kalo, or taro, is a root vegetable that is a popular food source in Hawai`i.  It was brought with the earliest settlers of the Hawaiian islands.  Its root can be boiled or steamed, then pounded into a paste, called poi (poy).  It can also be grated, mixed with coconut milk, honey, brown sugar, then steamed or baked into a Hawaiian dessert, called “kulolo” (koo low low).  The leaves and stems are also used to make a pork dish called “laulau”  (lao lao), which chunks of salted pork, pork fat and butterfish, are wrapped in taro leaves, then steamed.  There are so many versions of laulau, that we’ll have to save this word, for its own blog!!! ;o)

Until then, check out the following link, to find out the significance of Kalo to our ancestors, our people and culture.

http://www.canoeplants.com/kalo.html

A hui hou,

Haunani