Email
Print
FeedPowered by Poi
Kalo, a legendary plant, has deep roots in Hawaiian culture.
Harvesting moana ‘ula‘ula.
(page 1 of 6)
Photography by Jason Moore | Courtesy of Sky Barnhart
“Ready for ku‘i [ready to pound]?” Adelaide Kaiwi Kuamu Sylva asks expectantly. A slender Hawaiian woman in a blue dress, she wears her 92 years gracefully, a silk flower pinned in her silvery hair, her clear brown eyes taking in the family assembled around the picnic table in her Lahaina carport.
“Yes, Mama,” says her daughter June. She helps Adelaide to stand at one end of the table, facing a wooden board on which are piled chunks of soft, boiled kalo (taro). With both hands, Adelaide grasps the pohaku ku‘i ‘ai, the heavy stone pounder, lifts it high, and brings it down onto the sturdy papa ku‘i ‘ai, the poi board that was once her grandfather’s. “Ku‘i i ka poi, this is the way we pound the poi!” she sings gaily, as kalo flecks fly.
Rhythmically, Adelaide scoops water out of a bowl and slaps it onto the base of the poi pounder, briskly scraping the mashed kalo from the board’s raised sides with one sure hand. As she continues to pound, the purple paste gets smoother and shinier.
“It smells good, the poi,” says her elder daughter, Mary Bud. Everyone leans in for a fresh, earthy whiff.
I think if my mom head fead me some of that stuff instead of bagels growing up I might not have had to worry about getting pushed around so much:)
I would like the (a) recipe from Adelaide for the 3 day fermented poi. Thanks
I thought that poi could stay edible for years without refrigeration and I am wonderingif all the farming is organic? how much does poi cost by the kilo?
Fresh made poi does go bad as it would probably get moldy over time. After a week it should be thrown out. Dehydrated poi does have a much, much longer shelf life. Depending on the time of year, demand and availability, poi fetches upwards of $5.99 per pound. By comparison, last year island farmers got an average 54 cents per pound of taro, according to state agricultural statistics, and even less–52.5 cents per pound–on Kaua’i, where the bulk of the crop is sold to HPC, which dictates the price. More here: http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2005/08/battle-in-the-taro-patch/