When the kalo plant is harvested, it is usually cut up and
separated into three parts: the lau, the huli, and the kalo.
Each component has specific use and no part of the plant is
wasted. Lau – The lau, also known as the leaf, of the kalo helps
to determine the variety of taro in some cases. Some
characteristics of the leaf that helps in determining the
variety of kalo is its size and color. The leaf is used to make
food dishes such as laulau and lū‘au. Wrapping pork or chicken
with lau and then steaming it makes laulau. In traditional times
before electric ovens, laulau was cooked in an imu (underground
oven). To make lū‘au, lau was boiled until it broke apart. The
water was then drained and the cooked lau is mixed with he‘e
(squid) or moa (chicken) and coconut milk. Kalo – The kalo is
the corm of the plant. This is the part of the plant that is
used to make poi, the staple food of the Hawaiian people. Huli –
The huli is the remaining part of the kalo after the lau and the
kalo have been cut off. The huli co