Considered a pudding, kūlolo has a chewy and solid consistency like fudge or Southeast Asian dodol, with a flavor similar to caramel or Chinese nian gao.

[5][6][7] The Hawaiian word kūlolo is a cognate of the Eastern Polynesian term "roro" which describes "brains matter, bone marrow; spongy matter,"[8] which itself is derived from Nuclear Polynesian "lolo" which describes "coconut cream or oil",[9] while "kū" is a qualitative and stative prefix.

[10] Traditional kūlolo recipes call for wrapping a mixture of grated taro and coconut cream in ti leaves and baking it in an imu (underground oven) for 6 to 8 hours.

[14][15] It also refers to the grated or pulverized raw ingredients—including taro, sweet potato, breadfruit, yam, or banana—that are mixed with coconut milk to make this dish.

[16] Pepeieʻe (or paipaieʻe) is a baked pudding made from the overripe fruits of banana or breadfruit mixed with coconut milk.