Versatile, filling, and tasty, cassava has all the qualities of a staple food. South American and Caribbean cultures have known this for centuries, and more and more people in the U.S. are catching on. Here's everything you need to know about cassava, including how to cook it and the one way you should never eat it.
What Is Cassava?
Cassava is a root vegetable that can be used in many of the same ways as potatoes. On the surface, this starchy tuber looks like a sweet potato or yam but with thicker skin. When cooked, cassava has a neutral flavor and soft, light texture.
Cassava grows in tropical and subtropical climates. Evidence suggests it originated in Brazil then spread to Central America and the Caribbean. It later arrived in Southeast Asia and West Africa, where it still grows. In all of these regions, people have incorporated cassava into their cuisine.
You can cook cassava like you cook potatoes — baked, boiled, fried, and even grilled. For example, you can use it to bulk up soup or stew, turn it into French fries or chips, or serve it as a simple side dish. You can even use it in desserts, like this Filipino Cassava Cake.
You should never eat cassava raw. Cassava is categorized as bitter or sweet, and both require some TLC to be edible. According to the USDA, the bitter variety of cassava is actually poisonous when raw because it contains significant amounts of cyanide, a deadly chemical. Removing the cyanide calls for hours of soaking and cooking. You should even discard the water you cook it in, the USDA says.
That said, bitter cassava grows in Africa and isn't sold in U.S. supermarkets. Instead, the U.S. imports the sweet variety from Central America and the Caribbean. Sweet cassava contains small amounts of cyanide, meaning it's still inedible raw. But peeled, cooked cassava is totally safe to eat.
Cassava Benefits
If you've ever followed a gluten-free or paleo diet, chances are you've come across recipes that call for cassava or cassava flour. One of the world's main sources of starch, cassava contains almost double the calories and carbohydrates as a potato. This makes it an excellent source of energy. In terms of nutrients, cassava contains small amounts of potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, and B vitamins.
Cassava isn't a nightshade, a group of plants that include potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. Some diets (like the autoimmune protocol diet) ban nightshades, which makes cassava an ideal substitute for potatoes. Research, however, doesn't suggest that nightshades are harmful to eat, the Cleveland Clinic says.
Cassava is a root vegetable.People use the root as a food and to make medicine. Cassava is used for tiredness, dehydration in people with diarrhea, sepsis, and to induce labor, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Cassava root and leaves are eaten as food.
There are two main varieties of cassava: sweet and bitter. The sweet variety is what you'll find at your local supermarket and in cassava-based products; its flavor profile is mild, somewhat nutty, and subtly sweet.
Cassava is an essential energy source and contains nutrients, such as protein, calcium, and fiber. People should not eat it raw, as there is a risk of toxicity due to naturally occurring forms of cyanide. Raw cassava contains cyanide, which is toxic to ingest, so it is vital to prepare it correctly.
You can cook cassava like you cook potatoes — baked, boiled, fried, and even grilled. For example, you can use it to bulk up soup or stew, turn it into French fries or chips, or serve it as a simple side dish. You can even use it in desserts, like this Filipino Cassava Cake. Cassava flour is super versatile, too.
However edible varieties of cassava and potatoes grown for consumption are low on toxicity. Cassava is more healthier if you can eat the green leaves which are edible after blanching/boiling and straining and contain useful amounts of amino acids/proteins.
The most commonly consumed part of the cassava plant is the root, which is incredibly versatile. You can eat it whole, grated, or ground into flour to use it in bread and crackers. Cassava root is also used to produce tapioca, a type of starch, as well as garri, a product similar to tapioca.
Yams, sweet potatoes, and cassava are classed as tuberous root vegetables that come from a flowering plant but are not related and do not have much in common. In the U.S., they are marketed as different vegetables. Yams are native to Africa and Asia and can be the size of a regular potato to five feet long!
Sweet cassava roots contain less than 50 mg per kilogram hydrogen cyanide on fresh weight basis, whereas that of the bitter variety may contain up to 400 mg per kilogram. Sweet cassava roots can generally be made safe to eat by peeling and thorough cooking.
The results of the review indicate that cassava has diverse pharmacological activities, including anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic effects, and wound healing properties.
Allergies to latex: Cassava might cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to latex. Iodine deficiency: Cassava might lower the amount of iodine absorbed by the body. For people who already have low levels of iodine, eating cassava might make this condition worse.
The advantage of cassava diversification is a substitute option for replacing rice as a staple food because cassava contains a high nutritional value and could prevent certain diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Drying is the most ubiquitous processing operation in many tropical countries. Sun drying eliminates more cyanide than oven drying because of the prolonged contact time between linamarase and the glucosides in sun drying. Soaking followed by boiling is better than soaking or boiling alone in removing cyanide.
Food products: There are hydrocyanic glucosides (HCN) in all parts of the plant; these glucosides are removed by peeling the roots and boiling in water. The young tender leaves are used as a potherb, containing high levels of protein and vitamins C and A.
Cassava is also called yuca, manioc, Manihot esculenta, or Brazilian arrowroot. The term Brazilian arrowroot can be confusing, as cassava is not used to make arrowroot starch, which comes from West Indian arrowroot or Maranta arundinacea.
The variety typically sold for home cooking in the U.S. is sweet cassava, and its cyanide content is removed by peeling and cooking the tuber. (Bitter-tasting yucas produce up to a gram of cyanide per kilogram of fresh roots. That type of cassava root must be soaked and cooked for hours before it's safe to eat.)
Cassava is loaded with dietary fiber. Consuming this fiber is linked to a number of health benefits, including lower blood pressure, reduced cholesterol levels, better control over your blood sugar levels and a lower risk of obesity.
The Bottom Line: Cassava certainly contains nutritional benefits worth trumpeting and can be a great way for cyclists, especially those following a gluten-free diet, to get the energizing carbs they need to keep up the pace. But overall, cassava is not a food that must be a regular part of your diet.
Besides their nutritional importance, cassava leaves and roots are also used to treat several diseases, such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cell aging, and cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis [14].
Cassava has historically played an important famine-prevention role in Eastern and Southern Africa where maize is the preferred food staple and drought is a recurrent problem.
The tubers have a mild nutty taste and are commonly eaten as root vegetables in stews or as side dishes. Food items such as the gelatinous fufu of West Africa and the bammy of Jamaica come from cassava.
A dense clump of cassava may continue to absorb water in the digestive tract and form a (bezoar), or mass in the gut. While a cassava bezoar will likely resolve, the mass will be difficult to digest and feel heavy in the gut for a while.
Cassava contains resistant starch, a type of carbohydrate that is not digested and acts similar to fiber in the body). It can therefore feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut and improve digestion. It can also be ingested to prevent conditions like constipation, gastritis or intestinal cancer.
These tropical staples are a fantastic alternative to potato. Plantains are the larger, more savoury siblings of bananas, whilst cassava is a starchy root vegetable.
Tapioca is a starch extracted from the cassava root through a process of washing and pulping. The wet pulp is then squeezed to extract a starchy liquid. Once all the water evaporates from the starchy liquid, the tapioca flour remains. Alternatively, cassava flour is the whole root, simply peeled, dried and ground.
Cassava is a nutty-flavored, starchy vegetable in the root and tuber family. Other vegetables in this group include potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, and yams. Cassava is high in both carbohydrates and calories compared with other vegetables, and it is a staple crop in many cultures across the globe.
“Sweet” cassava is the root most often sold for home cooking and has its cyanide concentrated near the surface. After peeling and normal cooking, it is safe to eat. “Bitter” cassava has cyanide throughout the root and can only be eaten after extensive grating, washing, and pressing to remove the harmful toxins.
Cassava is a plant known for its root vegetable. It's often referred to as “yuca” (spelled with one “c”) and sometimes ground to make tapioca flour. Yucca (spelled with two c's) is a shrub known for its narrow, pointy leaves. It doesn't produce a root vegetable and is totally unrelated to cassava/yuca.
Compared with other gluten-free flours, such as coconut or almond, cassava flour has a low fat content. It has a high water content and a lower calorie density than flours like corn, plantain, rice, coconut, sorghum, and wheat.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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