Poi (food)

Poi

A bowl of poi showing typical consistency
Alternative names	Popoi
Type	Purée
Place of origin	Polynesia
Region or state	Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Hawaii
Main ingredients	Starchy vegetable
Media: Poi

Poi is a traditional staple food in the Polynesian diet, made from taro.

Traditional poi is produced by mashing cooked taro on a wooden pounding board (papa kuʻi ʻai), with a carved pestle (pōhaku kuʻi ʻai) made from basalt, calcite, coral, or wood.^[1][2] Modern methods use an industrial food processor to produce large quantities for retail distribution. This initial paste is called paʻi ʻai.^[3] Water is added to the paste during mashing, and again just before eating, to achieve the desired consistency, which can range from highly viscous to liquid. In Hawaii, this is informally classified as either "one-finger", "two-finger", or "three-finger", alluding to how many fingers are required to scoop it up (the thicker the poi, the fewer fingers required to scoop a sufficient mouthful).^[4]

Poi can be eaten immediately, when fresh and sweet, or left to ferment and become sour, developing a smell reminiscent of plain yogurt. A layer of water on top can prevent fermenting poi from developing a crust.