Poi making question (food, rated, best)

[roadfamily6now]

Hello! Aloha!

My Husband and I feel in love with Taro Bread or the Purple Bread from Punalu'u Bakery on the Big Island. In our feeble attempt to make this at home, I'm curious to know more about Poi.

What is the best way to make this after the Taro is boiled? I have seen the more traditional method of mashing it with a stone pestle type object but the recipes online all advise using a food processor. Well, since we did not have a food processor, we used the vitamix which promptly overheated but at least we had most of the Taro root mashed smooth.
I was definitely not prepared for the stickiness of it! Is this common or just a result of our preparation technique?

When making the bread, do you use the fermented poi or non?

Thanks!
Mahalo

[roadfamily6now]

well, we did not ferment the poi and the bread tasted wonderful. We did not use any food coloring but I was still surprised to see the bread was perfectly white!

[Calico Salsa]

As with potatoes, the highly starchy taro root will get stickier & gummier if you over process it. Better to gently mash it until just done.

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by Calico Salsa

As with potatoes, the highly starchy taro root will get stickier & gummier if you over process it. Better to gently mash it until just done.

Excellent, I will try that next time.

[Calico Salsa]

I just remembered a Cooks Illustrated article on mashed potatoes. It said to add butter first, before milk, because the fat will coat the starch. This prevents the liquid of the mild being absorbed, which also causes gooeyness.

This may not apply to taro, but for breadfruit (ulu) we do add butter and coconut milk. Once the "ulu poi" was too gooey. We left it overnight in the refrigerator, then remixed in the morning with a fork. It was great!

[roadfamily6now]

thank you.