This item
Taro
- brown fibrous outer skin
- ring marks around the corm
- pale cut flesh may carry fine purple flecks
Vegetables
Taro
Taro is a whole corm commonly showing brown fibrous ringed skin and pale cut flesh with fine purple flecks.
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3 identity clues
- brown fibrous outer skin
- ring marks around the corm
- pale cut flesh may carry fine purple flecks
Names in other languages
- 繁體中文
- 芋頭
- English
- Taro
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Talas
- Tagalog
- Gabi
Name in Cantonese (Jyutping): wu6 tau4 No Cantonese voice on this device
What is it?
Taro is a whole corm commonly showing brown fibrous ringed skin and pale cut flesh with fine purple flecks. This page follows the authoritative HK-market name and identification scope.
How to identify it
Look for brown fibrous skin, ring marks and pale flesh with fine purple flecks; size is not a reliable identity rule.
Common confusion
Compare
Potato
- An oval brown-skinned potato tuber with shallow eyes and pale starchy flesh.
- Look for a firm tuber, thin tan-brown skin and scattered shallow eyes.
- Potato has distinct eyes and pale starchy flesh; sweet potato is often tapered and differently coloured inside.
Compare
Sweet Potato
- tuber commonly tapers at both ends
- skin is usually smoother than taro
- skin and flesh colours vary by variety
How to identify it
Sweet potato usually has smoother skin and lacks taro’s fine purple-flecked cut surface; potato lacks the same fibrous rings.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Use Taro only where the recipe names it, following the stated amount and cooking method.
Choosing & preparing
Use only edible taro from a reliable supplier; wash off soil, peel and cut, then cook thoroughly before eating. Do not eat raw or wash with soap or produce wash.
Storage
Follow CFS vegetable-storage guidance and purchase directions; if washed before storage, dry thoroughly first.
Helper tip
Sweet potato usually has smoother skin and lacks taro’s fine purple-flecked cut surface; potato lacks the same fibrous rings. Never gather or eat wild taro or unidentified plants; cooking does not remove the toxicity of wild taro.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買芋頭。The employer is asking you to buy Taro; check the market sign or original package.
Useful market phrase
我想買芋頭。Meaning: I would like to buy Taro.
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Sources (7)
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items Multilingual Booklet
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items - Gourds
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Gourds and other vegetables Cantonese pinyin
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Safe and Fresh: Practical Tips for Storing Vegetables
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Pesticide Residues in Food - Frequently Asked Questions
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Food Safety Newsletter 83: Calcium Oxalate Crystals in Plants
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Food Poisoning Caused by Wild Taro