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Vegetables

Malanga

Description

Malanga (Colocasia esculenta).

It is a tropical perennial plant that is used mainly as a vegetable for its edible corm. For its nutritional values and its easy cooking together with the digestive qualities, they make this crop a product of great demand in the Cuban national market and in the diet of hospitals, nursing homes and children's circles. In Cuba two genera are cultivated under this name: Colocasia and Xanthosoma, the first native of Southeast Asia between India and Indonesia, from which corms and corms are indistinctly consumed; and the second, originating in America, of which only the cormels are edible, with the exception of the yellow-colored taro. To differentiate one genus from another the easiest way is through the shape of the leaf, which is pelted in Colocasia and sagitated in Xanthosoma.

Importance of the crop

The malanga (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is one of the most important crops in the island countries of the Pacific, where it plays a major role, both as a starch and as a leafy vegetable. Worldwide, it is the fifth highest consumption among rhizomes and tubers and more than 25% occur in Oceania and Southeast Asia. The importance of the crop goes beyond its contribution to nutrition and income; In many Pacific island countries, C. esculenta plays an important cultural role, since it is part of the customs and traditions of these countries.

The production of taro in 2011 worldwide was about 10 million tons, of which Nigeria contributed more than 50%; followed by Ghana, China and Cameroon, main producing countries. In the Americas, malanga is not considered as a main crop, however, it is produced in Nicaragua, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, where a drastic reduction of the crop has been reported, due to phytosanitary problems, which has caused the abandonment of the demanding market (United States).

In Cuba, of the malanga (C. esculenta) the main rhizome is preferred and to seeding the secondary rhizomes are used; both are edible of special taste and high digestibility, is a fundamental part of the diet of children and the elderly for their nutritional properties and riches.

In Cuba, around 160,000 ha of root vegetables are planted every year in all the provinces of the country, with a production of 970,000 tons annually, of which 16% corresponds to the malanga (both genera), that is, to C. esculenta in the country they were planted in 2015, 6954.7.

The greatest variability for malanga (C. esculenta) is reported in the central region of the country because Spaniards who arrived from the Canary Islands settled in that area. However, new evidence points to the eastern region as an important source of variability, due to the finding of stoloniferous wild types.

General description

Herbaceous plant with perennial behavior if it is not harvested. It does not have an aerial stem but an underground one, from which sprout secondary branches, lateral, horizontal, thickened, which is known as cormels. The cormels have a dark brown bark and the pulp is white or yellow, has knots where the buds are born. At its base, the leaves come out in the form of a spadix, the duration of the growth cycle is 270 to 330 days; During the first six months corms and leaves develop.

Nutritional value

It has a high content of thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C and iron. It is an excellent food because of its protein content of the wet product, which is 1.7 to 2.5%. Nutritional information for malanga (100 g) [14]: