Cassava, the healthy tropical tuber
The most important source of carbohydrates for about a billion people
Source: Maniok by sabiá brasilinfo,
brasilienportal.ch
Edited: Peter Rieser / oxente.ch
The nutritious root tuber cassava comes from the Amazon and has long been an integral part of the diet of the indigenous Indians. After the European invasion of South America, it soon found its way into the kitchens of the conquerors - known to the Spanish as "yuca" and to the Portuguese as "mandioca". In Brazil, it is still one of the most important staple foods. Modern research has now discovered a surprising potential in this plant that goes far beyond its culinary applications. Today, more than 600 products in the chemical industry, metal and plastic processing, as well as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, use various cassava components.
A poisonous plant developed into a food for humans and conquered half the world.
It serves as an important source of calories, minerals, proteins, vitamin A, which protects against blindness, and antioxidants that prevent
cancer. This is how a dictionary could describe cassava (Manihot esculenta).
While it remains the "bread of the poor" in the Brazilian interior, it has quietly become a universally important resource with a wide range of uses. Believe it or not, there is some of it in every magazine you open. Its components can be found in the plywood furniture in your home, in your clothes and towels, on your face and hair, and in the medicines you take. It may even be in the gas tank of your car. It is also part of the past: cassava influenced the founding of São Paulo, one of the largest metropolises in the world. At the same time, its potential opens doors to new technologies in industry and the future.
An analysis of their unique properties
When a housewife chooses a particularly beautiful, quick-to-cook, and delicious cassava at the market, she probably has no idea that it is one of the thousands of cassava species that have been catalogued in Brazil alone. Thanks to this enormous variety, cassava can be grown in all Brazilian states. A basic distinction is made between the "poisonous" and the "tame" or "sweet" species, the latter being known regionally as "macaxeira" or "aipim". Cassava is also a widespread staple food in other tropical countries in Africa and Asia.
The roots of the plant are not the only thing that is used. The leaves are also valuable due to their high protein content. The "Pastoral da Criança" has included them in its food mix to combat malnutrition.
Certain species contain large amounts of vitamin A. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to blindness and is a serious problem for children in the northeast and the Amazon region. A study by the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) on children between the ages of three and seven in the capitals of Boa Vista, Manaus and Porto Velho suggests that consuming cassava can help. The results show that cassava is the most important source of vitamin A after milk.
In other species, lutein, an antioxidant that protects the body against cancer, has been discovered in
the leaves - and lycopene, another antioxidant that prevents tumors, especially in the prostate, has been found in the root.
The journey of root and flour around the globe
Brazil is the fifth largest producer of cassava in the world with 18,098,115 tons. Only Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand and Ghana produce more. Cassava production creates one
million direct jobs and brings in $2.5 billion annually.
Of course, agricultural research contributes to this success. But it was the Indians who discovered the cassava plant seven to ten thousand years ago. They developed a method to remove poison and
water from the roots. They then integrated cassava into their diet and produced a flour that could be stored for a long time. A spectacular case in human history in which an indigenous culture
developed the technique to produce and detoxify a poisonous product.
The cassava plant probably comes from Rondônia in South America. Indigenous people bred them from wild plants. It served as a staple food, similar to corn for the Aztecs and Mayas or potatoes for
the Incas. The Spanish and Portuguese brought them with them in the 16th century and spread them to other tropical countries.
To become Brazilian, it is necessary to make friends with cassava flour
Farinha de Mandioca is made from cassava root and refined through a roasting process. The result is an aromatic flour with a slightly crunchy consistency and an intense flavor.
In Brazil, farinha de mandioca is obligatory. People do not only resort to it when there is a food shortage. Both at home and on the road, travelers and various groups such as Bandeirantes,
Jangadeiros, Pantaneiros, Caiçaras, Sertanejos and even Açorianos in Santa Catarina use the flour. All of them use the obligatory farinha. No communal meal is without a bowl of roughly roasted
cassava flour on the table. One researcher emphasizes that to become Brazilian, you have to make friends with cassava. Farinha belongs to the Brazilian culture.
The Jesuits in São Vicente were dependent on manioc flour. Newcomers disparagingly called it "sawdust". In a letter to Rome in September 1554, José de Anchieta reported: "The procurement is difficult and the journey strenuous, so we moved to the small settlement called Piratininga." There they held the first mass on January 25, the day of the conversion of the Apostle Paul. This is how the city with his name, São Paulo, was born.
For Father José de Anchieta, manioc was the "bread of the earth". Today, manioc starch is in demand in industry. It is added to over 600 products, for example
printing paper, to increase its resistance. Edson Campos from the "Associação Brasileira Técnica de Celulose e Papel" emphasizes the
advantages of cassava starch: low price, versatile use, good compactor and water-retaining. Geraldo Salles from the "Pesquisa e
Desenvolvimento da Klabin" explains that printing and writing papers are the biggest consumers. They process 1,500 tons of cassava
starch every month.
Sylvio Nápoli, technical director of ABIT, explains that the textile industry uses starch to make natural cotton and linen threads more resistant. In addition, starch gives the colors density and hold in fabric printing.
The physical and chemical variability of cassava starch flour offers a wide range of applications in the chemical industry: in engineering, the metal and plastics industries, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Cassava starch is used as a binding agent, nutritive substrate, dispersant and anti-crystallization agent in shampoos, talc, make-up powder and perfumes.
In the pharmaceutical industry, starch holds particles together, gives tablets consistency and dissolves them in the body. It supports the transport of the active ingredient. "The demand for
cassava starch will remain as long as the quality and production volume are right," says pharmacologist Lauro Moretto, director of the Federação Brasileira da Indústria Farmacêutica. For him,
starch is human gasoline, glucose.
Between 1932 and 1942, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, produced 5 million liters of alcohol from cassava. The sugar cane variant reduced investment in cassava alcohol. Now the government and private
sector are investing again in biofuel research. According to Claudio Cabello, director of "Cerat," cassava alcohol is cheaper and better. The main problem is raw material production. Sugar cane
is only grown for sugar and alcohol. Cassava is also used as food and for starch. That is why cassava alcohol is only widespread in isolated regions with low demand or poor conditions for sugar
cane cultivation.
Cassava - A social, ecological, technical and economic opportunity
From an environmental point of view, cassava is a valuable crop that uses the soil
efficiently. It is characterized by its ability to adapt easily to almost any soil type and does not require any chemical
agents. In addition, cassava can be easily integrated into crop rotation. When harvested, its branches and leaves protect the soil and become organic fertilizer. As a result, cassava promotes the
sustainable management of cultivated areas.
EMBRAPA has developed a method for using the toxic residues of the pressed cassava roots in a variety of ways. These residues are suitable as feed for cattle. They are also used in the
manufacture of bricks and paints and as fertilizer. These uses reduce waste and promote sustainable production.
Researchers see the future of cassava in the connection between the past and the present. They want to break new ground by mixing starch flour with wheat flour. Adding 10% cassava improves the
appearance of the breakfast roll without affecting the taste or consistency.
A law drawn up in the Chamber of Deputies plans to set the mixing with imported wheat for five years. "It is incomprehensible that an agricultural country like Brazil is 80% dependent on imports
for a product like wheat," explains one researcher. She calls for a change in thinking and action. Cassava should no longer be seen as a synonym for poverty. Instead, it should be promoted as a
strategic development tool.
The cassava plants defy climate change
Cassava, the tropical tuber, now provides food for a significant portion of the world's population.
In the flour house, a place of historical and cultural significance, they turn cassava into flour.
Tapioca is a Brazilian crepe made from cassava flour. It is a popular, delicious, crispy and juicy snack.
In Brazil, cassava is often eaten fried like chips. It is often served with a dip. The snack is very popular.
