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FOOD
Woody, nutty, wow!
A look at cassava, the humble root that's top of the
crops and goes by other names such as manioc or yuca.
If you've ever eaten an old-style
school dinner pudding, snacked
on a packet of Skips or sipped
a glass of bubble tea, you're no
stranger to this versatile foodstuff. All
three of these treats are made from
processed cassava root.
Fresh, frozen, pounded or
pearlised, this humble tuber is also
known as Manihot esculena, its Latin
name. It's also known as manioc or
yuca (not to be confused with the
popular houseplant which is spelled
yucca with two c's) depending on
which continent you're on. It belongs
to the Euphorbiaceae family and -
similar to potatoes and yams - it
works its magic underground in the
production of edible tubers.
Native to Central and South
America (where it is estimated to
have existed 2700 years BC), it was
first cultivated along the Amazon
by the Arawak people whose name
apparently means 'tuber eaters'.
As an easy to cultivate, 'plant and
forget' crop, its popularity spread
throughout the tropical regions of
Africa and South Asia.
With its dark-brown peel covering
a fibrous white flesh, It looks like
a cross between a dirty carrot and
a sweet potato and is described as
nutty and slightly sweet. Cassava's
unremarkable appearance hides its
high prestige in the food chain as
one of the top three most cultivated
crops in the world after rice and
maize. Grown in an estimated 80
countries throughout the tropics,
cassava is believed to form the staple
diet of more than 800m people
around the world.
In the can
Most of the larger supermarkets in
the UK stock fresh cassava tubers
and they will also be available in
speciality Caribbean or African food
stores. Frozen and canned varieties
are also popular and whatever form
it takes, it can be mashed, fried,
or baked, and added to stews and
curries. Cassava chips are a popular
alternative to potato fries and are
widely stocked in the freezer section
of supermarkets.
When cassava is processed
and dried, it becomes the west
African starchy flour staples fufu
and gari/garri. Tapioca flour is also
extracted from cassava root and is
a staple in the West Indies, India
and throughout South East Asia as a
thickening agent and in both savoury
and sweet dishes. Tapioca has been
Photo: Diana Chistruga
making carbs count