A large taro leaf on a small coin

Cook Islands

We covered some of the history of the Cook Islands previously with the iconic triangular $2 coin. Briefly, they are a series of remote Pacific islands, populated by explorers from other island countries over 1,500 years ago. First European contact was with the Spanish in the 1500s before being visited by Captain James Cook in the 1770s.

Although the Cook Islands conducts its own affairs, the Cook Islands is part of the Realm of New Zealand, and share the same Head of State, King Charles III.

Obverse

The obverse of the coin features Queen Elizabeth II facing right. Her name to the left, country to the right and year below.

The portrait of the Queen is the Arnold Machin portrait used on this series of coins from 1972 – 1983.

Reverse

The reverse of the coin features “A taro leaf (Binomial Name: Colocasia esculenta), a tropical plant grown for its edible corms and the staple food in the Cook Islands, to the left of the value”

Cuisine

Cook Islands food is fresh and simple. Blessed with fertile soils and rich waters teeming with marine life, many dishes are made using local fish, fruit and root vegetables such as taro and cassava. Freshly grated coconut and coconut cream are also key ingredients in many Cook Islands dishes. The traditional way of cooking is in an umu – a shallow pit filled with hot volcanic rocks. Parcels of meat or fish, veggies and herbs are then wrapped in banana leaves and placed on top to steam for a few hours, resulting in a deliciously tender texture.

Taro

There are two types of taro grown on Rarotonga. The first is the broad leaf taro (picture below). It comes from the family Araceae and belongs to the genus Colocasia. Their roots are used as a carbohydrate staple, are purplish in colour and make the most delicious taro crisps.

The second type of taro leaf grows more as a tall leggy shrub. It is the young and the unmarked older leaves which are the ones picked and used to make Rukau. This type of Araceae is an Amorphophallus campanulatus whose tubers are seldom used.

(Taro leaves, from CuriousFoodies.blog).

The taro grows up to a height of 2 m. Its adventicious and shallow root system arises from the corm, a swollen underground stem that contains high levels of fine starch and weighs up to 1 kg. Corms are usually cylindrical and 30 cm long x 15 cm diameter, but they are highly variable in size, shape and colour. The leaves are 30-90 cm long and 20-60 cm broad, and are borne in crowns at the end of upright, thick, succulent, 0.9-2 m high petioles.

Rukau

One popular dish made with Taro leaves is Rukau. RNZ has a Rukau recipe. Briefly cook the lamb and taro leaves together for about 40 mins, add coconut milk and enjoy.

The Cook Islands Pocket Guide lists Rukao, along with other local dishes. In Samo, Rukau is called palusami.

I think this coin features a great image of the Taro leaf, and now I’ve written this post, I really want to try some Rukao! have you been to the Cook Islands and tried Rukao? Do please let me know about your experience!

Leaves, whether edible or not, are used on many coins, though not always the main subject themselves. Some I have covered previously with fairly prominent leaves include the 5 Kuruş from Turkey, the painted leaves on this UK Threepence, and the fern leaves from the New Zealand Dollar. What are your favourite leaves on a coin? Do let us know!