User:CropEnthusiast/sandbox

Parts of this text have been taken from the original wikipedia article and modified.

Xanthosoma sagittifolium, the arrowleaf elephant's ear, malanga or American taro , is a species of tropical flowering plant in the genus Xanthosoma, that produces an edible, starchy corm. Cultivars with purple stems or leaves are also variously called blue taro, purplestem taro, purplestem tannia, and purple elephant's ear among others. Taro is a different species that belongs to the genus Colocasia, but tannia and taro both belong to the family Araceae. Tannia is among the world’s most important tuber crops and feeds 400 million people worldwide. There are multiple varieties, the two most common being the red flesh and the white flesh variety. They were artificially bred to improve pest and disease resistance, to shorten the time it takes to reach maturity and to improve the cooking quality. In Puerto Rico, a third variety, the yellow variety, is used the most often because the pulp is more finely textured and therefore the best for cooking. It’s also the most expensive variety.

Cooking
This first part has been copied from Silvan because we partially write about the same topic

Tannia is a versatile crop with both its corm and leaves suitable for human consumption. The corms can be categorized into smaller secondary corms and main corms. Secondary corms are primarily used in various culinary applications, in similar ways as potatoes. They can be boiled, fried, roasted, steamed, baked, or ground into flour (see chapter Flour). The leaves of the tannia plant find common culinary use as a leafy green, similar to spinach. In contrast, primary corms are typically designated for animal feed rather than human consumption because of the higher amount of oxalates.

In Bolivia, it is called walusa, in Colombia bore, in Costa Rica tiquizque or macal, in Cuba malanga, in Mexico mafafa, in Nicaragua quequisque, in Panama otoe and ocumo in Venezuela. In Brazil, the leaves are sold as taioba. The leaves have around the same nutritional value as spinach. The tuber (called nampi or malanga) is also used in the cuisine of these countries. The plant is often interplanted within reforestation areas to control weeds and provide shade during the early stages of growth. In Puerto Rican cuisine and Dominican cuisine, the plant and its corm are called yautía. In Puerto Rican pasteles, yautía is ground with squash, potato, green bananas and plantains into a dough-like fluid paste containing pork and ham, and boiled in a banana leaf or paper wrapper. The yautía corm is used in stews, soups, or simply served boiled much like a potato. It is used in local dishes such as guanime, alcapurrias, sancocho, and mondongo. In alcapurrias, it is also ground with green bananas and made into fried croquettes containing picadillo or seafood. Yautía majada is also prepared and consumed when mashed in some instances. Yauíta puree is usually served with fish or shellfish cooked in coconut milk. In Suriname and the Netherlands, the plant is called tayer. The shredded root is baked with chicken, fruit juices, salted meat, and spices in the popular Surinamese dish, pom. Eaten over rice or on bread, pom is commonly eaten in Suriname at family gatherings and on special occasions, and is also popular throughout the Netherlands. In Surinamese cuisine the leaves are also often baked with a Maggi-cube (chicken boullion cube) and eaten alongside rice and chicken or salted beef. A traditional dish, "Epkang nkukwo," coming from Nigeria uses tannia leaves as wrappers for grated tannia. These leaf-wrapped bundles are then gently simmered in a flavorful sauce infused with fish, peppers, and palm oil.

Flour
Flour can be made by slicing the rhizome and then drying it. Afterwards, it can be finely grinded. The yield of the starch is about 15%. A big problem of tannia is the low storability because of the high moisture content of the corms and cormels. Processing the tubers into flour could increase the storability of the crop and could increase the added value. Local farmers then would be able to sell their crop for a higher price, which could then help the local community. Especially the white fleshed variety provides flour that has qualities that are great for making bread, since the resulting paste is not as cohesive and can therefore be used for the preparation of different foods. Flour could also easily be used in meat and milk products. A disadvantage of the flour is the (especially in comparison with flour made from cassava) lower starch content and it therefore would be best to only make flour as a byproduct of other processes. It could also be made from cormels that do not provide the necessary quality for cooking.

Chicken feed
Studies have shown that it’s possible to replace up to 45% of the maize grain in chicken feed with tannia corn meal (TCM). This could be useful for farmers since chicken feed which consists of maize grains is very expensive - especially in poorer countries. At the beginning of their growing phase, chickens fed with TCM consume significantly more because TCM reduces the nutrient uptake and weight gain. Later in the growing stage, this effect diminishes and in the end, there is no difference in the weight of chickens fed with TCM in comparison to chickens fed entirely with maize grains.

Additional uses
Tannia is used by some populations as a medicine against tarantula, scorpion and snake bites. Studies with rats have shown that tannia leaves could protect from cardiovascular diseases and bowel cancer. Other benefits include a reduced weight gain, reduced liver fat, increased fecal mass and higher concentration of short chain fatty acids and bile salt. It has also shown a probiotic effect. Another study has shown that tannia can stop the cell cycle and force apoptosis in a cancer cell. Tannia also has been traditionally used to treat osteoporosis because of the high content of free calcium analyses. Studies have shown that the usage of tannia indeed is a feasible option for treatment for poorer communities without access to proper medication.

Cocoa trees can grow in direct sunlight, but in some climates, the intense light in the afternoon can damage the leaves. Tannia has many leaves which makes it a good candidate for a cover crop that can protect the cocoa plant from direct sunlight. Another advantage of Tannia is that it can grow in many different climates and therefore would be suitable for many different countries.

Tannia could also be used to make food preservatives (lactic acid), energy bars , chips and crisps, additives in beverages, sauce thickeners, purees, and sauces. Lastly, there is the possibility to use tannia to make ethanol for biofuel because of the high starch content and the high yield.

CropEnthusiast (talk) 12:35, 8 November 2023 (UTC)