Statewide County HI Archives News.....Wiki Mo'olelo - Part 18 -- Ancient Cuisine of Hawai'I. December 4, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Darlene E. Kelley donkeyskid@msn.com December 17, 2008, 6:04 pm Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands December 4, 2008 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley December 4, 2008. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawai'I Keepers of the Culture A Study in Time, of the Hawai'ian Islands Wiki Mo'olelo - Part 18 -- Ancient Cuisine of Hawai'I. by Darlene E. Kelley. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wiki Mo'olelo Part 18. ANCIENT CRUSINE OF HAWAI'I When the Polynesian seafarers arrived on the Hawai'ian islands 300-500 A.D., few edible plants existed in the new land, aside a few ferns and fruits that grew at higher elevations. Botanists and archaeologists be- lieve that these voyagers introduced anywhere between 27 and possibly more than 30 plants to the islands, mainly for food. The most important of them was taro. For centuries taro, and the poi made from taro, was the main staple diet, and it is still much loved today. In addition to taro, sweet potatoes and yams were planted. The Marquesans, the first settlers from Polynesia, brought breadfruit and the Tahitians later introduced the baking banana. These settlers from Polynesia also brought coconuts and sugarcane. They found plenty of fish, shellfish, and limu in the new land. Flightless birds were easy to catch and nests were full of eggs for the taking. Most Pacific Islands had no meat animals except bats and lizards, so the ancient Polynesians sailed the Pacific with pigs, chickens and dogs as cargo. Pigs were raised for religious sacrifice, and the meat was offered at alters, some of which was consumed by priests and the rest eaten in a mass celebration. The early Hawai'ian diet was diverse, and may have included as many as 130 different types of sea food and 230 types of sweet potatoes. Some species of land and sea birds were consumed into extinction. Sea salt was a common condiment in ancient Hawai'I, and the Inamona, a relish made of roasted, mashed kukui nutmeats, sea salt and sometimes mixed with seaweeds, oftain accompanied the meals. At important occasions, a traditional feast, 'aha 'aina, was held. When a woman was to have her first child, her husband started raising a pig for the 'Aha 'aina Mawaewae feast that was celebrated for the birth of a child. Besides the pig, mullet, shrimps, crab, seaweeds and taro leaves were required for the feast. The modern name for such feasts, lu'au,. was not used until 1856, replacing the Hawai'ian words 'aha 'aina and pa'ina. The name lu'au came from the name of a food always served at a 'aha 'aina -- young taro tops baked with coconut milk and chicken or octopus. Prior to cooking, pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their nostrils shut, in order to conserve the animals blood. Meat was prepared by flattening out the whole eviscerated animal and broiling it over hot coals, or it was spitted on sticks. Large pieces of meat, such a fowl, pigs and dogs, would be typically cooked in earth ovens, known as an imu, combined roasting and steaming in a method called kalua. A pit is dug into the earth and lined with volcanic rocks and other rocks that do not split when heated to a high temperature, such as granite. A fire is built with embers, and when the rocks are glowing hot, the embers are removed and the foods wrapped in ti, ginger or banana leaves are put into the pit, covered with wet leaves, mats and a layer of earth. Water may be added through a bamboo tube to create steam. The intense heat from the hot rocks cooked food thoroughly -- the quanity of food for several days could be cooked at once, taken out and eaten as needed, and the cover replaced to keep the remainder warm. Sweet potatoes, taro, breadfruit and other vegetables were cooked in the imu, as well as fish. Saltwater eel was salted and dried before being put into the imu. Chickens, pigs and dogs were put into the imu with hot rocks inserted in the abdominal cavities. Men did all of the cooking, and food for women was cooked in a separate imu, afterwards men and women ate meals separately. The ancient practice of cooking with the imu continues today. POST-CONTACT PERIOD. In 1778, Captain James Cook visited the island of Niihau, leaving a ram goat, ewes, a boar, an English sow, and seeds for melons, pumpkins, and onions. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver brought the first cattle to the islands; longhorns from California were presented to King Kamehameha I. With no natural predators, the new cattle multiplied out of control; the king hired an American man named John Parker to capture and domesticate the cattle. Many of the cattle were butchered and beef was introduced to Hawai'ian cuisine. In 1813, pineapple was first cultivated in Honolulu by Don Francisco de Paula Marin, a spanish botanist and advisor to King Kamehameha I. Although grape vines were introduced by Capt Vancouver around 1792, Marin is credited with the first Hawai'ian vineyard in 1815 and planting the now rare Mission grape variety. Marin also brewed the first beer in 1812, and planted the first coffee crop in 1817, but his plantings failed. Marin, called " Manini " by Hawai'ians, experimented with planting oranges, limes, beans, cabbages, potatoes, peaches, melons, maize, and lettuce. He was the first to boil potatoes for the King. By the late 19th century, pineapple and sugarcane plantations owned and run by American settlers took over much of the Hawai'ian lands, and these two crops became the most important sources of revenues for the Hawai'ian economy. As these plantations grew, so the plantation owners hired imigrant workers. Along with these workers came other ethnic foods and stocked local streams and irrigation ditches with imported fishes and introduced their own herbs and spices. So today, Hawai'I has become a international crusine of foods and cultures. TARO The name Taro ( from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages ). more rarely Kalo ( from Hawai'ian ) and Gabi in the Philippines, is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondly as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in oceanic cultures. It is considered to be one of the earliest cultivated plants in Hawai'I. Taro is closely related to Xanthosoma and Caladiuym. plants commonly grown a ornamentals, and like them it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear. In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate, although the toxin is destroyed by cooking or can be removed by steeping taro roots inb cold water overnight. Its uses are; The small round variety is peeled and boiled, sold either frozen, bagged in its own liquids, or canned. The plant is actually inedible when raw because of its needle-shaped rapides in the plant cells. Typical of leaf vegetables, taro leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, ans zinc, and a very good source of vitamin B6, C, niacin, potassium, copper,and manganese. Taro corms are very high in starch, and a good source of dietary fiber. Oxalic acid many be present in the corm and especially in the leaf, and these foods should be eaten with milk or other foods rich in calcium so as to remove the risks posed by ingesting the oxalte ion, especially for kidney disorders, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis. Calcium reacts with the oxalate to form calcium oxalate which is very insoluble. Taro is used in many other countries. POI Poi is a Hawai'ian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the KALO plant ( widely known as TARO ). Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm ( baked or steamed ) to a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and agin just before eating, to achieve a desired consistancy, which can range from liquid to dough-like ( poi can be known as two-finger or three-finger, alluding to how many fingers you would like to eat with. ) The bowl of Poi was considered so important and a sacred part of daily Hawai'ian life that whenever a bowl of poi was uncovered at the family dinner table, it was believed that the spirit of Haloa, the ancestor of the Hawai'ian people, was present. This is because Hawai'ians believed the Taro plant, or kalo, was the original ancestor of the Hawai'ian people. Because of that, all conflict among family members had to come to an immediate halt. First time tasters describe poi as resembling library paste-- more an allusion to the texture than the flavor, which is delcate. The flavor changes distinctly once the poi has been made. Fresh poi is sweet and edible by itself. Each day thereafter the poi loses sweetness and turns slightly sour. Poi is used as a milk substitute for babies born wiyh an allergy to dairy products because of its nutritional value. It is also used as a baby food for babies with severe food allergies. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Next - Part 19. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/newspapers/wikimool114nnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/hifiles/ File size: 9.6 Kb