Taste of Cassava: This Is How the Plant Tastes

The neutral taste of cassava goes well with well-seasoned stir-fries of vegetables, fish or meat. The preparation of cassava is similar to that of potatoes – but you have to pay attention to a few things.

Taste of cassava: enjoy only cooked

Manioc is the root of the cassava bush, which is native to tropical South America and South Africa and has been used there as an important staple food for a long time. The starchy root is also arousing more and more curiosity in European kitchens. If you want to try cassava, you should note: cassava or yuca, as it is also known, can only be eaten cooked or processed because it contains hydrocyanic acid when raw.

• If you were to eat cassava root raw, it would probably taste bitter. However, you should definitely not do this, because the hydrocyanic acid it contains is poisonous. Inadequate preparation of cassava root can lead to serious acute poisoning, as warned by the Hong Kong Government’s Center for Food Safety.
• The cooked roots are definitely recommended. They contain a lot of starch and can be prepared in a similar way to potatoes. Therefore, cassava is well suited both boiled and baked or fried as a filling, soft-boiled side dish.
• This also characterizes their bite and taste, which is generally described as rather floury-neutral to slightly sweet, and in some varieties also as a little bitter. If you notice, for example, that the fried cassava is a little firmer when chewed, then it is probably still raw on the inside. Give the remaining pieces a little more time to cook through.
• In the case of the rather sweet cassava roots, the hydrocyanic acid glycoside is located less in the root flesh than under the skin. Therefore, by peeling well, the hydrocyanic acid content is already quite low (about 50 mg/kg) and a bitter taste is hardly perceptible.
• On the other hand, the root of a bitter cassava variety (hydrocyanic acid glycosides around 400 mg/kg) is different. The bitter taste is more of a problem here if the glycosides in the preparation (see below) have not been sufficiently washed out or chemically modified.
• You can no longer prepare an overripe, overripe cassava because it becomes mushy and takes on a slightly rotten taste.

How to prepare cassava

Manioc roots can now be found in many fruit and vegetable departments in the food trade, initially reminiscent of wood. The elongated root is white on the inside, covered on the outside with a firm brown shell that is sometimes coated with a thin layer of wax to extend storage time and shelf life to about two weeks. You can cook many delicious dishes with cassava. How to prepare the roots:

• First of all, the peel of the root must be removed. You can use a kitchen knife or vegetable peeler to peel. However, be prepared for the fact that cutting off the outer covering will be a little more persistent than you are used to from potatoes, for example , because the root flesh of the cassava is firmer.
• Then it is best to cut pieces about 5 to 7 centimeters long and quarter them lengthways. Then remove the central solid stalk of the cassava root.
• You should let the peeled cassava pieces soak in a water bath for about half an hour, especially if it is a bitter cassava. Although this dissolves some of the starch, it is primarily intended to reduce the hydrocyanic acid content.
• Then drain the water and start cooking the cassava. For example, you can simply boil them in salted water, make a puree out of them, or grill pieces in the deep fryer or the oven. The remaining hydrocyanic acid is only rendered harmless by the heat.

Other processing options for cassava

The cassava roots can also be processed into flour and starch. In this form they are very popular in the kitchens of their countries of origin and can also be purchased in this country.

• If the cassava roots are peeled after harvesting, cut into small pieces or grated, dried and then finely ground, you get cassava flour. It contains all the nutrients of the original root.
• Manioc flour has a high swelling and binding capacity due to the high starch content of the roots. It is an ideal gluten-free grain flour substitute for anyone who wants or has to do without wheat, spelt and other grains.
• The cassava flour also tastes rather neutral, like the root itself. It can be used for all types of pastries. A typical Brazilian dish made with cassava flour is the ‘farofa’, a neutral-tasting, crumbly side dish served with bean and vegetable dishes.
• In a more complex process, the starch can be extracted from the cassava root. This is traded as tapioca in or ‘ tapioca starch ‘. It is ideal for thickening food, as a binding agent in baking or can be used to make tapioca balls for bubble tea.