Cassava, the resilient crop

Cassava (yuca, medico, tapioca, manioc) is a starchy and tuberous root originating in the Americas.
It is the sixth most important crop in the world, feeding around 8000 million people a year. This hardy vegetable is a globally traded commodity with a deep history, long-withstanding versatility and a hopeful, sustainable future.

Origins and Early Domestication

This perennial shrub originated in the New World somewhere along the southwest border of the Amazon Basin between Southern Brazil and Eastern Bolivia. Its domesticated variety was discovered in the 19th Century and this particular varietal is estimated to be around 8000-10000 years old. It is one of the oldest cultivated crops that spread quickly throughout Central and South America and was eventually dispersed to Asia and Africa.

Cassava has been a significant crop of survival and symbolism for the Indigenous people of the Americas. For the Maukshi tribes of Guyana and Northeastern Brazil, it was a resilient food before, during and after colonisation and appeared in mythology and religious ceremonies. The Mayan civilisation was also responsible for the cultivation of cassava as well as its spread throughout the Americas.

The indigenous peoples learned how to prepare cassava (through trial and error and I expect possibly death), in a way that would reduce the toxicity of this nutritionally dense crop.

Unpeeled Cassava


Two common methods used to prepare cassava were to grate and strain the moisture and then allow it to dry and grind it into flour (farina), the second method is to peel, wash and boil it. The liquid from the cassava, once removed from the starch, can also be used after it has been fermented and then boiled for several days. This is known as tucupi, a unique product used in Brazilian dishes such as pato no tucupi (duck in tucupi) and tacapa (soup).

With a deep root system, the cassava crop is extremely resilient in adverse weather conditions and was integrated with other crops such as maize and beans.

In pre-Colombian times, cassava was an important commodity that was traded throughout the coastal and highland regions with other products cacao and maize. It was also used in various rituals and community gatherings.

The Colombian Exchange, a significant trade route established after Christopher Columbus voyaged to the New World in the late 1400s, moved cassava and other plants, diseases, cultures, and ideas from the Americas to Africa and eventually to the Old World.  

Cassava in world cuisines

This diverse and multiple-use crop can be found in an abundance of dishes significant to cuisines around the world.

SOUTH AMERICA
Farofa, is a toasted cassava flour with butter, onions, sometimes bacon and spices. It serves as a side dish to grilled meats and theBraziliann favourite, feijoada, Pao de quejo, a sticky and cheesy snack is also made with cassava flour.

In Peru, cassava is often boiled, then fried until crispy as a side dish or on special occasions, is served in Juane, a type of Amazonian tamale that consists of rice, meat, spices, beans and eggs, blanketed in a bijao leaf and steamed for several hours.

Apart from making crispy cassava fries, Enyucado, a popular Colombian cake is the perfect bake to showcase this wonderful ingredient.

Casabe, is a bread made only from cassava is found in Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. The cassava is grated, dried and cooked until it forms together then served as a side dish or as a base for stews and sauces to be piled on top.

In Colombia, cassava is grated and made into a sweet cake called Enyucado

AFRICA
Fufu, a sticky dough in Nigeria consists of fermented cassava only, whereas in other Western African countries it is pounded with plantains and cocoyams. It is

Cassava flour in East Africa is used to thicken stews and the leaves of this crop is often included into stews and soups with coconut milk, vegetables and meat.

Juane
@perutravel

ASIA
In Asia, cassava can be seen in many sweet dishes and drinks like bubble tea, tapioca pudding with coconut milk and mango and getuk in Indonesia, a sticky sweet dessert that consists of palm sugar and cassava showered in grated fresh coconut. It is included in Meen curry in India and commonly sliced thinly and fried into crisps that are sprinkled with salt and chilli.

The cassava crop has fed civilisations for centuries and has withstood dramatic climate changes, its resilience has allowed it to be adaptable and to flourish in any continent around the world. Not only is it used in the culinary world, but it’s also industrial applications have made it an extremely sustainable resource, used for packaging, cosmetics and biofuel.

 

SOME MORE FOOD HISTORY….

 

The History of Food & Cuisine in North America

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Sopes - an Aztec Snack

Honestly, I had only tried sopes after living in Mexico for around 4 months and once I did, the world upon my palate changed.

It’s not a common street food, or so I thought, but I guess I was just not looking for them. I went to Cuernavaca for the weekend to spend it with my friend and his family to attend my first Mexican wedding which was quite the party and experience. The journey from Mexico City was not a long one, but a restless one so I had quite a long sleep and when I woke up and stepped into the kitchen, I sleepily saw a a glorious sope production line happening before my eyes.

My friend’s family had all come together from all corners of the world, and his mother was busy in the kitchen preparing food for 4 hungry boys, their partners and children. Not only was she making a mountain of sopes, but there was also a large bubbling pot of pozole to go along with them, needless to say, both were delicious, and I even enjoyed the tripe in the pozole (a traditional pork-based soup).

The sopes came together quickly and in all their simplicity they were unbelievably delicious, topped with straightforward and flavourful beans, cheese, queso fresco and hot sauce.

Sopes with black beans, avocado, cheese and hot sauce

One cannot talk about sopes without talking about maize and nixtamilsation. The maize crop was a fundamental element in Aztec societies and remains at the forefront of Mexican cuisine today. Even before colonisation, maize was processed by a method known as nixtamalisation. Treating the corn with alkaline solution (lime water), not only gave it a unique taste, but it also enhanced the nutritional content of the maize (specifically niacin), which was key to preventing pellagra.

Masa Harina is the dried flour of nixtamalised corn is the glorious ingredient that can be made from a myriad of corn types which can be transformed into cakes, tortillas, gorditas, tamales, champurrado and also, of course, sopes.

What Are Sopes??

Sopes are a much thicker version of a tortilla and are reasonably small in size (5-10cm), they have a ‘lip’ to hold ingredients that are layered on top of them, which range from beans, shredded pork, chicken, cheese, avocado, herbs and hot sauce.

They are not as common as tacos on the streets of Mexico, however, they are a more robust and portable snack, and just as delicious.

Masa harina (dough flour) is the base of sopes, which then has water added to it to create the dough. The dough is pressed, dry-fried, shaped and fried. There is no need to add salt or herbs to sopes. As simple as the base may seem, the process of nixtamilsation gives the corn an earthy and slightly tangy flavour profile.

 

A little on Nixtamilsation by the founder of @masienda

 


The basis of sopes is essentially the same, however throughout the various regions of Mexico, everyone adds a variety of different toppings that reflect the colourful culinary diversity of the country.

Travel to Mexico city (De Effe), and you will find sopes piled high with papas con chorizo, potatoes and soft, slightly spicy Mexican chorizo. When you head south to Oaxaca, the culinary treasure of the country, sopes or memelas are showered with queso de oaxaca and sometimes crispy chapulines (grasshoppers). Jalisco’s sopes are earthy and deeply flavourful with slow-cooked meat stews such as birria. In Yucatan, sopes are brighter in flavour, yet robust with famous pork dishes such as cochinita pibil.

If you do travel to Mexico, make sure you try this wonderful dish that is robust, flavourful, and you can never ever stop at just one!!

If you can get your hands upon some good masa harina you can always try your hand at making sopes at home…. I made mine with black beans, avocado and cheese.

Cochinita Pibil
Credit @meridadeyucatan

 

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The History of Food & Cuisine in North America

 

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Ajiaco - Colombian Chicken Soup.

As I sat in a small restaurant in Bogota, I looked around at the homely interior, strong wooden furniture, slightly kitsch decorations, and a proud Colombian flag hanging over the ‘bar’. All the tables overlooked the live entertainment; a small cobblestone sidewalk filled with an occasional tourist, carts selling cocadas, and vendors selling small handicrafts.  

The simplicity of Colombia, its beautiful landscape, her coloured yet troubled history, and straightforward food all encompass a unique experience to anyone passing through, or staying a while….

A rather plump older lady places a heavy terracotta bowl of stew (slash) soup in front of me with two hands, then a plate of rice with an extremely buttery sliced avocado. I dipped the large spoon into the soup and tasted it. There was warmth and comfort in this thick flavourful broth that was creamy with just enough acidity – although the flavour combination was rather foreign to me, it felt somehow familiar and remains to this day one of my favourite Colombian dishes I have ever tasted.

The very name of this soup, Ajiaco, includes the word Aji, meaning chilli pepper, in the language of the Taino people. Taino were Indigenous inhabitants that migrated from the north coast of South America and spread throughout the Caribbean, they were the most predominant society in the region before European contact in the late 15th Century.

The Taino people lived in a hierarchical society that crafted tools, boats and ornaments, worshipped deities of natural elements such as Yucahu the god of cassava and the sea, and ate an abundant diet of seafood, cassava, beans, maize, peppers, wild plants and hunted meat.

Ajiaco is a traditional soup that has evolved with the history and culinary landscape of Colombia. More than a soup, it is a stew consisting of filling ingredients that is perfect for cooler seasons and is accompanied by a variety of sides making it a very substantial meal.  

The most popular Ajiaco is found in Bogota, and is known as Ajiaco Santafereño. The main ingredients in this Ajiaco are chicken on the bone to extract the hearty collagen and fat, three types of potatoes (criollas/yellow, sabaneras/red, pastusas/white), guascas, an extremely aromatic Colombian herb, corn on the cob, cream, capers and avocado.

Travel around Colombia and you will find variations of Ajiaco – in the Cauca Valley, the dish is extremely herbaceous, using a variety of plants from the region, in the north, along the Caribbean coast, you will find coconut milk in the dish which gives it a milder taste, whereas in the mountainous region of Antioquia, it is hearty and filled with many root vegetables.

The unique ingredients found in Colombian Ajiaco - Guasca and three types of Colombian potatoes

Guasca
Credit @amigofoods

Saberna, Criolla and Pastusa Potatoes of Colombia
Credit @ATouchofRoJo

Ajiaco, although most recognised to be a Colombian dish, can be found with slight variations in Cuba, Venezuela and Peru.

Ajiaco Cubano is robust and complete containing many root vegetables such as cassava, malanga, sweet potatoes, potatoes and different meats like beef, chicken, pork and chorizo. The heavier spiced flavour is a result of the addition of cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and paprika and it is full of plantains, tomatoes, corn, garlic, onion, coriander and peppers (capsicums).

Venezuelan ajiaco contains beef and pork and more vegetables and fruit such as carrots, plantains, corn, and tomatoes, and is flavoured with coriander, garlic, onions,  cumin and oregano.

The significant difference of Peruvian Ajiaco to its Colombian counterpart Is the addition of huacatay (black mint), coriander and aji Amarillo (yellow chilli).

Whether you try this dish in Columbia, Cuba, Venezuela or Peru, Ajiaco is a humble stew that reflects the tradition of the indigenous people, demonstrates the vast abundance of ingredients throughout Latin America and reflects history in every, delicious bite.

Every version of Ajiaco whether in Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela or Peru reflects a variety of significant ingredients to that country. A humble stew that tells tales tradition from the indigenous people, and a varied agricultural landscape and reflects history beautifully in an extremely delicious way.

 

SOME MORE FOOD HISTORY….

 
 

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