June 13, 2014
Root crops meant winter survival
Root crops meant winter survival
If you’re short of food these cold winter days, Nick Roskruge has some tips for you.
The leader of Massey University’s Maori resources team has just published a book on Maori root vegetables, Rauwaru.
He’s been collecting stories from kaumatua about foods eaten by the ancestors.
Dr Roskruge says plants like convolvulus, geranium, raupo and native orchids all produce roots that could be eaten when kumara and taro was not available.
"Convolvulus as an example grows rampant and there is a tonne of root material under the ground that can be stored. It can be harvested and dried and then reconstituted with water when it is time to pout it towards the meal. All of those things are about getting yourself through the cold winter when you don’t have fresh produce in the mara," he says.
Nick Roskruge’s Rauwaru, the proverbial garden and Nga-Weri, Maori root vegetables, their history and tips on their use is published by Massey University.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd