Two Kind of Cassava

2016-06-20

There are  two main models of cassava - sweet and bitter. Both contain Prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid), which could cause cyanide poisoning. Cooking or pressing the main thoroughly removes the poison. Cassava cannot be eaten raw. Bitter, or wild, cassava contains enough acid so that it can be fatally poisonous if eaten raw or undercooked. To escape the Conquistadors, theoppressed natives maintained to commit suicide by consuming raw cassava.

Don’t be intimidated. You won’t come across bitter cassava in U.S. stores. Sweet cassavacomes in American markets fresh or frozen. Bitter cassava is processed into safe edible flours and starches, which often are manufactured into?breads, pastries and cakes.

Here’s what you might make with cassava (yuca, manioc, mandioca, yucca root, casabe, tapioca).