Tī kōuka (Cordyline australis, NZ cabbage tree) hearts were an important Māori food. The growing tip and inner core of the stem were cooked in the hāngi — the sustained heat converts the starch to sugar, producing a sweet, slightly fibrous food called kāuru. Tī kōuka groves were cultivated by Māori for food — one of the few examples of Māori arboriculture. The trees were a managed resource, not simply foraged. Fiso pickles tī kōuka hearts as a sweet garnish at Hiakai. The same genus (Cordyline) as the Hawaiian ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) used in laulau and lawalu — the Cordyline family runs the entire length of the Pacific Migration Trail.
The growing tip of the tī kōuka is cut and the outer leaves stripped to reveal the pale, starchy inner core. This is cooked in the hāngi for several hours — the slow heat converts starch to sugar (the same Maillard reaction that caramelises kūmara). The result is kāuru: sweet, fibrous, chewy, with a flavour that early European observers compared to treacle or molasses. Modern use: Fiso's pickled tī kōuka hearts — the vinegar-pickling adds acid brightness to the inherent sweetness. Also used raw as a crunchy garnish when very young and tender.
Hāngi-cooked kāuru: intensely sweet, treacle-like, with a chewy, fibrous texture. Pickled tī kōuka hearts: sweet-sour, crunchy, bright — used as a garnish or condiment. Raw young hearts: mild, slightly sweet, with a clean vegetal crunch. Pairs with: rich proteins (the sweetness cuts fat), smoked fish (sweet-smoky contrast), and as a component in native herb salads.
Kāuru cooked in the hāngi for 8+ hours — the full starch-to-sugar conversion produces an… Hāngi-cooked for shorter periods — sweet but less concentrated
visual: properly cooked kāuru is dark amber-brown from caramelisation
The cooking time. Tī kōuka hearts must be cooked long enough — hours — to convert starch to sugar. Under-cooked tī kōuka is bland and…