Taro flourished in the Qing Dynasty.

1. Taro was popular during the Qing Dynasty. It not only became the favorite of the royal family and literati, but also enriched the folk food culture. To this day, taro is still a common delicacy on dining tables across our country and is deeply loved by people. As a period when taro was popular, the Qing Dynasty witnessed the richness and development of our country’s food culture.

2. Taro is native to tropical places in China, India, and the Malay Peninsula. It has been cultivated for a long time in northern and southern China. It is also popularly cultivated in tropical areas such as Egypt, the Philippines, and Java, Indonesia, and is regarded as a staple food. Since taro likes high temperature and humidity best, the farther south the cultivation habit is, the more prosperous it becomes. Growth and development require a mild and moist environment.

3. Taro can be used as soup, as a food substitute or to make starch. It has been regarded as an important food subsidy or famine relief crop since ancient times. The Yamei people in Taiwan Province still rely on taro as their main food. The petioles can be peeled, cooked, or dried for storage. The whole plant is commonly used as pig feed.

During the Qing Dynasty, taro was eaten in various ways, including stir-frying, stewing, boiling, steaming, frying and other cooking methods. Taro can not only be used as a staple food, but can also be made into a variety of delicious dishes and snacks. For example, delicacies such as "Crispy Taro Cake" and "Sugar Taro Miao" included in the "Tiao Ding Collection" of the Qing Dynasty were all very distinctive taro products at that time.

4. Taro, also known as taro and Guanyin head, is a common root vegetable. According to research, the history of taro consumption in my country can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period around the 6th century BC. However, the period when it really became popular was the Qing Dynasty. Taro is loved by the royal family and the people because of its rich nutritional value and unique taste.

Growth habits of taro

Under suitable temperature conditions, taro will take root and form new plants after growing leaves. A new shortened stem will form at the base of the plant. As the plant grows, it will gradually It swells to form a new corm, which is called a mother taro (taro head). The mother taro has many stem nodes, and each node has the remains of brown hairy leaf sheaths. Each time the mother taro grows a node, it grows a leaf.

According to the observation of China's Fenghua Agricultural Science Institute, the accumulated temperature from the end of March to the end of October affects the number of leaves grown in each year. The higher the accumulated temperature, the more leaves will be grown, and vice versa, the number of leaves will be lower. Generally, 15- 20 leaves, with an average of 1 leaf growing every 10 days or so.

The bulbs that grow from the axillary buds in the lower part of the mother taro are called "child taro", and the child taro will grow into "grandson taro". Taro root is a fleshy fibrous root with a well-developed and vigorous root system and very few root hairs. In tropical areas, taro often produces yellow-green spikes of inflorescences from the leaves, but they rarely bloom locally.