Cassava,

Manihot Esculenta.
We are a happy to present to you one of the great food plants of the world,Cassava.

A native of the beautiful Brazil and widely used by indigenous and non indigenous people to provide a wonderful starch.

It can be cooked much like potato and has great nutrition from it’s abundant foliage.

This beautiful plant under the right conditions will yield up to 70 tonnes per hectare and is ideal for the sub tropics and tropics.

With over 700 documented cultivars there is a cassava for most  climate conditions,even the cool temperate.

Cassava can be made into a very refined starch often marketed at your local asian food shop as Tapioca,it makes a wonderful fermented flour which is served with Feijoada  which is called Farina.

Cassava is one of the highest yielding carbohydrate sources in the tropics and the most popular source in the developing world.

The wedge style chips served with chili, lime and sea salt are a standard on all Brazilian beaches and restaurants.

Once you have enjoyed cassava chip cooked in the Brazilian style,you will definitely want more.

Please follow this link for advanced cultivation notes.

Cassava is one of the easiest plants you will ever grow.Cassava is as tough as pig skin and will grow in most soils.

*Clay soils need some work to avoid water logging,however,Cassava will still do well.

Cassavas strong, nutrient packed large roots will break through most soil conditions,coastal sandy soils will often produce large yields.
If you would like a great companion try intercropping with peanuts and you will get a great result.

Cassava once harvested needs to be eaten or processed quickly as it degrades (oxidizes in a few days).The leaves can be harvested and cooked like spinach.

Occasionally with very primitive varieties of cassava known in the Amazon reigon of Brazil special care needs to be taken when eating and cooking cassava.

An enzyme Linamarase is responsible for rendering Cassava roots and leaves edible,like a potato they can not be eaten raw.

The leaves require thorough cooking as do the roots.

The varieties generally available to Australians have very little of the cyanogenic potential found in the old world varieties and simple boiling or frying makes them extremely palatable.

Processing links advanced.

Heres a beautiful film made by our beautiful roving film maker Carolina Fernandes,who is the twin sister of our wonderful Vice president Vanessa Fernandes.You will see Vanessa in the film which was made during some aid work done on behalf of FVA.It documents the production and processing of Cassava in the Amazon by remote communities.

As a food security plant that is attractive and super simple to grow Cassava is hard to beat.The plant is difficult to reproduce from seed so simple stem cuttings(billets) are all that’s needed to guarantee your next seasons harvest.The roots and leaves both store well in the freezer,or can be rendered into starch flours.

If you would like to get your hands on some Cassava, Dan the herb man has just made some cuttings up so get your orders in.
Recipe.
Cassava cake .

Cassava Chips

General recipes