Poi (Fermented Taro)

fermented

Poi or popoi is a traditional staple food in the Polynesian diet, made from taro. Traditional poi is produced by mashing cooked taro on a wooden pounding board, with a carved pestle made from basalt, calcite, coral, or wood. Modern methods use an industrial food processor to produce large quantities for retail distribution. This initial paste is called paʻi ʻai. Water is added to the paste during mashing, and again just before eating, to achieve the desired consistency, which can range from highly viscous to liquid. In Hawaii, this is informally classified as either "one-finger", "two-finger", or "three-finger", alluding to how many fingers are required to scoop it up.