Cassava - Manihot esculenta, a low-protein, starchy
staple.
In regions where cereal grains cannot be grown, people often rely upon starchy
vegetables (roots, tubers, or rhizomes) to supply most of their calories. Such foods
are called starchy staples. While such crops often have high yields, their primary
disadvantage is their very low protein content (<1%).
Cassava, also known has manioc, is a tropical, starchy staple of South American
origin. Potatoes and yams are other starchy staples. Cassava has another
disadvantage; the fleshy roots contain poisonous compounds (cyanogenic glycosides -
compounds that liberate cyanide) that must be removed. Shredding the roots and
squeezing out the juice removes much of the toxic compounds. Heat used to dry the
resulting flour removes the remaining compounds. The resulting flour, called farofa,
is very bland, rather like corn meal and flour. The flour can be mixed with water
and the dough cooked on a large griddle to make large cassava flat-breads. In many
areas, cassava breads and farofa are the staple, sometimes only food, consumed for
considerable periods of time. The resulting diet results in chronic protein
deficiences.
The purified starch can be used as a thickening agent. You know gelatinized
pellets of cassava starch as tapioca. There would be little taste if sugar and
vanilla flavoring were not added.
Recently planted Venezuelan cassava field with taller bananas and other
fruit trees to the rear. |
This field in Kerala, India, has cassava growing with bananas and betel
palms. |
A cassava plant showing the thick, fleshy roots. Cuttings of the
stems will be used for replanting. |
Washing the peeled roots prior to shredding. At this stage
cassava is rather like a large tough potato. |
A Caribe woman spreads the squeezed, shredded cassava on a warm griddle to dry into
farofa flour. |
Baking a cassava flour flat bread on a large griddle. |
These young Caribe boys should have black hair, not blond. |
This baby shows symptoms of chronic protein deficiency.
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