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| Cassava has many benefits, nutrition facts, and it can be processed into a variety of foods. |
Photo resource: http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Topics/Development/Cassava-Can-Science-Save-A-Diet-Staple
Cassava (Manihot Esculenta)
also called manioc, yuca, balinghoy, mogo, mandioca, kamoteng kahoy, and manioc root, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy, tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing shrub in the Asparagaceae family. Cassava, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is calledtapioca; its fermented, flaky version is named garri.
Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava.
Cassava root is a good source of carbohydrates, but a poor source of protein. A predominantly cassava root diet can cause protein-energy malnutrition.
Cassava is classified as sweet or bitter. Like other roots and tubers, cassava contains antinutritional factors and toxins. It must be properly prepared before consumption. Improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters, and may even cause ataxia or partial paralysis. Nevertheless, farmers often prefer the bitter varieties because they deter pests, animals, and thieves. The more-toxic varieties of cassava are a fall-back resource (a "food security crop") in times of famine in some places.
Description
The cassava root is
long and tapered, with a firm, homogeneous flesh encased in a detachable rind,
about 1mm thick, rough and brown on the outside. Commercial varieties can
be 5 to 10 cm in diameter at the top, and around 15 cm to
30 cm long. A woody cordon runs along the root's axis.
The flesh can be chalk-white or yellowish. Cassava roots are very rich in starch and
contain significant amounts of calcium (50 mg/100g), phosphorus
(40 mg/100g) and vitamin C (25 mg/100g). However, they are poor
in protein and
other nutrients.
In contrast, cassava leaves are a good source of protein (rich in lysine) but
deficient in theamino acid methionine and
possibly tryptophan.
History
Wild populations
of M. esculenta subspecies flabellifolia, shown to be the
progenitor of domesticated cassava, are centered in west-central Brazil, where
it was likely first domesticated more than 10,000 years BP. By
6,600 BC, manioc pollen appears in the Gulf
of Mexico lowlands, at the San Andrés archaeological site.
The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a
1,400-year-old Maya site, Joya
de Cerén, in El Salvador, and the species Manihot
esculenta likely originated[citation needed] further south
in Brazil andParaguay. With
its high food potential, it had become a staple
food of the native populations of northern South America, southern
Mesoamerica, and the Caribbean by the time of the Spanish conquest. Its
cultivation was continued by the colonial Portuguese and Spanish. Forms of the
modern domesticated species can be found growing in the wild in the south
of Brazil.
While several Manihot species are wild, all varieties of M.
esculenta are cultigens.
Cassava was a staple
food for pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas and is often
portrayed in indigenous art. The Moche people
often depicted yuca in their ceramics.
Economic
importance
World production of
cassava root was estimated to be 184 million tonnes in 2002,
rising to 230 million tonnes in 2008. The majority of production in 2002 was
in Africa,
where 99.1 million tonnes were grown; 51.5 million tonnes were grown in Asia; and 33.2 million
tonnes in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nigeria is
the world's largest producer of cassava. However, based on the statistics from
the FAO of the United Nations, Thailand is
the largest exporting country of dried cassava, with a total of 77% of world
export in 2005. The second-largest exporting country is Vietnam, with
13.6%, followed by Indonesia (5.8%) and Costa Rica (2.1%).
Worldwide cassava production increased by 12.5% between 1988 and 1990.[citation needed]
In 2010, the average
yield of cassava crops worldwide was 12.5 tonnes per hectare. The most
productive cassava farms in the world were in India, with a
nationwide average yield of 34.8 tonnes per hectare in 2010.
Cassava, yams (Dioscorea spp.)
and sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are important
sources of food in the tropics. The cassava plant gives the third highest yield
of carbohydrates per cultivated area among crop
plants, after for sugarcane and sugar beets.
Cassava plays a particularly important role in agriculture in developing
countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, because it does well on poor soils
and with low rainfall, and because it is a perennial that can be harvested as
required. Its wide harvesting window allows it to act as a famine reserve and
is invaluable in managing labor schedules. It offers flexibility to
resource-poor farmers because it serves as either a subsistence or a cash crop.
Uses
Culinary
Cassava-based dishes are widely consumed
wherever the plant is cultivated; some have regional, national, or ethnic
importance. Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is eaten.
Cassava can be cooked in
many ways. The soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and can replace boiled
potatoes in many uses: as an accompaniment for meat dishes or made into purées, dumplings, soups, stews, gravies,
etc. This plant is used in cholent, in some households, as well.
Deep fried (after boiling or steaming), it can replace fried potatoes, with a
distinctive flavor. In Brazil, detoxified manioc is ground and cooked to a dry,
often hard or crunchy meal which is used as a condiment, toasted in butter, or
eaten alone as a side dish.
Africa
Fufu, eba and tapioca
Fufu, or cassava bread,
is made in Africa by first pounding cassava in a mortar to make flour, which is
then sifted before being put in hot water to become fufu. The image shows fufu
being prepared in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Fufu is made from
the starchy cassava-root flour. Tapioca (or fecula),
essentially a flavorless, starchy ingredient produced from treated and dried
cassava (manioc) root, is used in cooking. It is similar to sagoand is commonly
used to make milky pudding similar to rice pudding. Boba tapioca
pearls are made from cassava root. It is used in cereals; several tribes in
South America have used it extensively. It is also used in making cassava cake,
a popular pastry.
Cassava is used in making eba, a popular food
in Nigeria.
Asia
Philippines
Cassava
cake (Philippines).
In the Philippines cassava
cake is one of the most popular and enjoyed home made delicacies or Kakanin.
Made from grated cassava (Kamoteng Kahoy), the root crop is mixed with coconut
milk, eggs, butter and topped with a creamy milk mixture. It is also called
cassava bibingka.
Indonesia:
tapai, getuk and krupuk.
In Indonesia,
Singkong or Ketela (cassava) is an important food. It can be cooked by frying
or boiling, or processed by fermentation to make tapai and getuk cake,
while the starch is made into krupuk crackers.
In time of famine or food shortage, cassava is used to replace rice. In 2011,
modified cassava flour became common, and some instant
noodle producers have used it silently, especially for low-end instant
noodles as a part substitute of pricy flour. The flour is often added to pastry
flour although the result is a pastry that is a little stiff. Getuk cakes can
be difficult to digest diners not used to it and can result in severe cramps
and discomfort.
Americas
Alcoholic beverages
Main article: Alcoholic_beverage#Beverages_by_fermentation_ingredients
Alcoholic beverages
made from cassava include Cauim and tiquira (Brazil), kasiri (Sub-Saharan
Africa), masato (Peruvian Amazonia
chicha), parakari(Guyana), nihamanchi (South
America) aka nijimanche (Ecuador and Peru), sakurá (Brazil, Surinam).
Nutritional
profile of cassava
Cassava root is
essentially a carbohydrate source.[27] Its
composition shows 60–65 percent moisture, 20–31 percent carbohydrate, 1–2
percent crude protein and a comparatively low content of vitamins and minerals.
However, the roots are rich in calcium and vitamin C and contain a
nutritionally significant quantity of thiamine, riboflavin and nicotinic acid.
Cassava starch contains 70 percent amylopectin and 20 percent amylose. Cooked
cassava starch has a digestibility of over 75 percent.
Cassava root is a poor
source of protein. Despite the very low quantity, the quality of cassava root
protein is fairly good in terms of essential amino acids. Methionine, cysteine
and cystine are, however, limiting amino acids in cassava root.
Cassava is attractive
as nutrition source in certain ecosystems because cassava is one of the most
drought-tolerant crops, can be successfully grown on marginal soils, and gives
reasonable yields where many other crops do not grow well. Cassava is well
adapted within latitudes 30° north and south of the equator, at elevations
between sea level and 2000 meters above sea level, in equatorial temperatures,
with rainfalls of 50 millimeters to five meters annually, and to poor soils with
a pH ranging from acidic to alkaline. These conditions are common in certain
parts of Africa and South America.
Cassava is a highly
productive crop in terms of food calories produced per unit land area per unit
of time, significantly higher than other staple crops. Cassava can produce food
calories at rates exceeding 250,000 cal/hectare/day compared with 176,000 for
rice, 110,000 for wheat, and 200,000 for maize (corn).
Cassava, like other
foods, also has antinutritional and toxic factors. Of particular concern are
the cyanogenic glucosides of
cassava (linamarin andlotaustralin).
These, on hydrolysis, release hydrocyanic
acid (HCN). The presence of cyanide in cassava is of concern for human and
for animal consumption. The concentration of these antinutritional and unsafe
glycosides varies considerably between varieties and also with climatic and
cultural conditions. Selection of cassava species to be grown, therefore, is
quite important. Once harvested, cassava must be treated and prepared properly
prior to human or animal consumption.
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