Story: Māori foods – kai Māori

Cooking food in hot springs, 1901

Cooking food in hot springs, 1901

The geothermal region around Rotorua supplied endless boiling water and super-heated steam for cooking. These 1901 photos show residents of Whakarewarewa village cooking by two methods. Those on the left boil food by suspending it in baskets lowered into a hot pool on cords. On the right, a hangi has been cooked by digging a hole in the earth and steaming the food with geothermal heat. Both methods are still used in this region.

Using this item

Auckland City Libraries - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Reference: AWNS-19011017-5-2

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Charles Royal and Jenny Kaka-Scott, 'Māori foods – kai Māori - Traditional cooking and preserving', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/40251/cooking-food-in-hot-springs-1901 (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Charles Royal and Jenny Kaka-Scott, published 5 Sep 2013