Taro is native to Southern India and Southeast Asia and is believed to one the earliest cultivated plants. Taro uncooked is toxic but the toxins are minimized by cooking, or it can be reduced by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight. There are so many ways of using taro, it is often boiled or steamed then peeled and eaten with or without sugar much like a potato, or braised and added with pork or meat.