Native cuisine of Hawaii

Native Hawaiian cuisinerefers to thetraditionalHawaiian foodsthat predate contact with Europeans and immigration fromEastandSoutheastAsia. The cuisine consisted of a mix of indigenous plants and animals as well as plants and animals introduced by Polynesian voyagers, who became the Native Hawaiians.
The date of the arrival on theHawaiian Islandsof the earliestPolynesianseafarers isunder debate. Nonetheless, when they arrived, few edible plants were indigenous to Hawaiʻi aside from a fewfernsand fruits that grew at higher elevations. Fish, shellfish, andlimuare abundant in Hawai’i.Flightless birdswere easy to catch and eggs from nests were also eaten. MostPacific islandshad no meat animals except bats and lizards. Various food-producing plants were introduced to the island by the migrating Polynesian peoples.
Botanistsandarchaeologistsbelieve that these voyagers introduced anywhere from 27 to more than 30 plants to the islands, mainly for food. The most important of them wastaro. For centuries, taro—and thepoimade from it—was the main staple of the Hawaiian diet, and it is still much loved.ʻUala(sweet potatoes) andyamswere also planted. TheMarquesans, the first settlers from Polynesia, broughtʻulu(breadfruit) and theTahitianslater introduced thebaking banana. Settlers from Polynesia also broughtcoconutsandsugarcane.
Ancient Polynesians sailed the Pacific withpigs,chickens, andPolynesian dogs, and introduced them to the islands. Pigs were raised forreligious sacrifice, and the meat was offered at altars, some of which was consumed by priests and the rest eaten in a mass celebration. The early Hawaiian diet was diverse, and may have included as many as 130 different types of seafood and 230 types of sweet potatoes. Some species of land and sea birds were consumed into extinction. The non-native species may have caused various birds, plants and land snails to go extinct.
Early Polynesian settlers brought along with them clothing, plants and livestock and established settlements along the coasts and larger valleys. Upon their arrival, the settlers grewkalo(taro),maiʻa(banana),niu(coconut), andʻulu(breadfruit). Meats were eaten less often than fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Some did import and raisepuaʻa(pork),moa(chicken), andʻīlio(poi dog).
In ancient Hawai'i, communities divided into sections known as Ahupua'a. These were slices of land that typically stretched from the top of the mountain to the ocean. This division gave each community access to all natural resources the land could provide, and allowed each community to be largely self sufficient.This division importantly gave communities access to streams running through the valleys down to the ocean, which allowed for construction oflo'i, irrigated mud patches that were used forkaloagriculture. In the spaces where the streams met the ocean,estuarieswere adapted tofish ponds(aquaculture).
ʻAwa(Piper methysticum, kava) is a traditional food among Hawaiians. Breadfruit, sweet potato, kava, andheʻe(octopus) are associated with the four major Hawaiian gods:Kāne,Kū,LonoandKanaloa.
Popular condiments includedpaʻakai(salt), groundkukui nut,limu(seaweed), andko(sugarcane) which was used as both a sweet and a medicine.
Men did all of the cooking, and food for women was cooked in a separateimu; afterwards men and women ate meals separately per the ancientkapu(taboo) of separating the genders for meals. This kapu was abolished in 1819 at the death ofKamehameha Iby his wifeKa'ahumanu. The ancient practice of cooking with theimucontinues for special occasions and is popular with tourists.
Thespesia populneawood was used to make food bowls.
Cyanea angustifoliawas eaten in times of food scarcity. It and the now endangeredCyanea platyphyllaare known in Hawaiian ashāhā.
There is no fighting when eating from a bowl ofpoi. It is shared and is connected to the concept becauseHāloa(Taro), the first-born son of the parents who begat the human race.
Hawaiians identify strongly withkalo/taro, so much so that the Hawaiian term for family,ʻohana, is derived from the wordʻohā,the shoot or sucker which grows from the kalo corm. As young shoots grow from the corm, so people too grow from their family.
Certain foods were eaten primarily by the royalty and nobility. These were also sometimes consumed by common people. These includePua`a(pig),Moa(chicken) and`Ilio(dog).All of these animals were introduced to Hawai`i, which prior to Polynesian voyagers did not have any large mammals. Pigs were hunted, while chickens and dogs were raised domestically. Animals were slow cooked primarily inimu, or underground ovens made by burying food with hot rocks and banana wood. They were also often cooked by cutting the animal open, filling its body with hot rocks, and wrapping it in ti, banana, and kalo leaves.
Most cooked foods eaten by Native Hawaiians, were prepared either through steaming, boiling, or slow cooking in underground ovens known asimu. Due to their lack of non-flammable cooking vessels, steaming and boiling were achieved by heating rocks in fires and placing the hot rocks in bowls of water.Many other foods, such as fruits and most seafood, were eaten raw.
On important occasions, a traditionalʻahaʻainafeast was held. When a woman was to have her first child, her husband started raising a pig for theʻahaʻaina mawaewaefeast that was celebrated for the birth of a child. Besides the pig,mullet, shrimp,crab, seaweed, and taro leaves were required for the feast.
The modern name for such feasts,lūʻau, was not used until 1856, replacing the Hawaiian wordsʻahaʻainaandpāʻina.The namelūʻaucame from the name of a food always served at aʻahaʻaina, young taro tops baked withcoconut milkandchickenoroctopus.
Pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their nostrils shut in order to conserve the animal's blood.Meat was prepared by flattening out the whole eviscerated animal and broiling it over hot coals, or it was spitted on sticks.Large pieces of meat, such as fowl, pigs and dogs, would be typically cooked inearth ovens, or spitted over a fire during ceremonial feasts.
Hawaiian earth ovens, known as animu, combineroastingandsteamingin a method calledkālua. A pit is dug into earth and lined withvolcanic rocksand other rocks that do not split when heated to a high temperature, such asgranite.A fire is built withembers, and when the rocks are glowing hot, the embers are removed and the foods wrapped inti, ginger or banana leaves are put into the pit, covered with wet leaves, mats and a layer of earth. Water may be added through abambootube to create steam.
The intense heat from the hot rocks cooked food thoroughly—the quantity of food for several days could be cooked at once, taken out and eaten as needed, and the cover replaced to keep the remainder warm.Sweet potatoes, taro, breadfruit and other vegetables were cooked in theimu, as well as fish.Saltwater eelwas salted and dried before being put into theimu.Chickens, pigs anddogswere put into theimuwith hot rocks inserted in the abdominal cavities.
Paʻinais the Hawaiian word for a meal and can also be used to refer to a party or feast. One tradition that includespaʻinais the four-month-longMakahikiancient HawaiianNew Year festival in honor of the godLono(referred to as the sweet potato god) of theHawaiian religion. Makahiki includes a first phase of spiritual cleansing and makinghoʻokupuofferings to the gods.
The Konohiki, a class of royalty that at this time of year provided the service of tax collector, collected agricultural and aquacultural products such aspigs,taro,sweet potatoes, dry fish,kapaand mats. Some offerings were in the form of forest products such as feathers.
The Hawaiian people had no money or other similar medium of exchange. The goods were offered on the altars of Lono atheiau—temples—in each district around the island. Offerings also were made at theahu, stone altars set up at the boundary lines of each community. All war was outlawed to allow unimpeded passage of the image of Lono.
The festival proceeded in a clockwise circle around the island as the image of Lono (Akua Loa, a long pole with a strip of tapa and other embellishments attached) was carried by the priests. At eachahupuaʻa(each community also is called anahupuaʻa) the caretakers of that community presentedhoʻokuputo the Lono image, afertility godwho caused things to grow and who gave plenty and prosperity to the islands.
The second phase of celebration includes:huladancing, sports (boxing, wrestling,Hawaiian lava sledding,javelinmarksmanship,bowling,surfing, canoe races, relays, and swimming), singing, and feasting.In the third phase, thewaʻa ʻauhau(tax canoe)was loaded withhoʻokupuand taken out to sea where it was set adrift as a gift to Lono.
At the end of the Makahiki festival, the chief would go off shore in acanoe. When he came back in he stepped on shore and a group of warriors threw spears at him. He had to deflect or parry the spears to prove his worthiness to continue to rule.
Native Hawaiian dishes have evolved and been integrated into contemporaryfusion cuisine.Apart fromlūʻaufor tourists, native Hawaiian cuisine is less common than other ethnic cuisine in parts of Hawaii, but restaurants such as Helena's Hawaiian Food and Ono Hawaiian Foods specialize in traditional Hawaiian food.