Some Historical Trivia – courtesy of Tony Mathiot
The cassava( Manihot esculanta), a thick–skinned starchy root vegetable or tuber, was among the first items of food that the first 28 settlers brought with them when they arrived here on August 27, 1770, aboard ‘Telemaque’ from Ile de France (Mauritius). They came with many kilos of cassava tubers for consumption and many cuttings for cultivation.
In 1772, Pierre Hangard (1732-1812), a former soldier of the Compagnie des Indes took over the settlement on Ste Anne and increased the cultivation of food. Besides feeding the entire population, he managed to supply passing vessels with enough victuals for the duration of their following journey until the next port. He grew rice, yam, taro, sweet potato, maize and cassava.
In 1773, when the French explorer Jean François de Galaup, Compte de la Perouse (1741-1788) visited Ste Anne, he was amazed at the amount of food crops that Hangard cultivated. « Il a de plus un champ de manioc de la plus grande beauté » he wrote. With the increasing arrivals of slaves to Seychelles, the cultivation of food crops increased, cassava being high in calories became together with sweet potato, a staplefood for the slave population. Every estate on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue allocated a portion of land for the cultivation of cassava, which was invariably consumed boiled. Breadfruit did not exist in Seychelles at that time. It was introduced in the early 1820s from Mauritius.
Cassava which is native to South America was introduced to Africa by Portuguese traders in the 16th century. In 1740, the governor-general of Mauritius, Bertrand-Francois Mahé de la Bourbonnais (1699-1753) introduced cassava to Mauritius from Indonesia.
The Two Types of Cassava in Seychelles
There are two distinct kinds of cassava found in Seychelles, the bitter or mayok anmer, and the sweet or mayok dou or lawet. Both contain Prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid), which can cause cyanide poisoning. The bitter cassava, contains much more of the acid than the sweet cassava. However, when cooked the acid is destroyed making it safe to eat. This is why it is recommended that cassava tubers, as well as the leaves, are cooked before they can be eaten.
The tubers are shaped like hands with fat fingers. The skin is rough, brown, and covered with a network of fine veins. The flesh is white, hard and brittle. During cooking it tends to split apart in wedges. The flavour is nutty and the texture smooth when cooked.
Other Varieties of Cassava
There used to be a large variety of cassava grown in Seychelles. Most of them have now disappeared and it would be good if anybody can shed some light on them, these include:
Mayok Alman, mayok an kote, mayok ble,mayok bonm Anz, mayok danzwan, mayok dife, mayok drwat, mayok fanm,mayok granbor, mayok kafe, mayok katit, mayok koudpwen, mayok Sengapour, mayok siwel, mayok fler, mayok Zoe, mayok Lafrik and mayok lonbraz
Two other varieties ‘Sophie’ and ‘Droite’ were identified as the two most popular local varieties in an article published in 1969 by B.G.C Smith, Department of Agriculture- Seychelles. This article, which can be accessed here, entitled ‘Variety Trials with Amani Cassava in the Seychelles’, discussed a trial done with imported Amani clones, from 1965 to 1969, to find the best variety that would fit the Seychelles conditions. Anybody with more information on this would be be greatly welcomed to share their knowledge.
Purchase and storage
Sweet cassava can be purchased year-round at Asian, Latin, or African markets, and can even be found these days in some larger grocery stores. Sweet cassava can be purchased fresh, frozen or grated. If buying fresh whole tuber, ensure that it is firm with no blemishes,bruises, cuts and soft spots or other signs of decay. It’s okay if you find cassava with a cut end exposed — it’s done to give you a good view of the flesh, which should be pure white . Dark streaks running through it can indicate that it’s past its prime and the flavor might be compromised.
You can store fresh, whole cassava in a cool, dry place and cook it within 1-2 weeks of purchase. It will keep about a week longer if kept in a refrigerator. If you have peeled more than you require, you can place it in cold water in a refrigerator and it will last for around 4 days. Fresh cassava can be frozen. All you need to do is peel it, cut in small pieces and place it in a freezer bag. You may even choose to boil your cassava and place in a refrigerator and will last for about 4 days.
How to Peel Fresh Cassava
Before fresh cassava can be eaten, the outer bark-like peel must be removed, because this is where most of the hydrocyanic acid is located. While it may look like an intimidating root vegetable to peel, it’s really quite easy once you get the hang of it.
Place cassava on a cutting board and cut off the tip and tail of the root.Remove the peel, either with a vegetable peeler or small knife.
If using a knife ,the first thing to do is to cut the cassava root into small manageable pieces, approx. 15 cm long. Then slice through the peel of each piece vertically – from top to bottom. Gently wedge the knife under the peel so that it lifts up and can be removed in large pieces.Be sure to remove all the brown peel, as well as the thin white layer just beneath it. I use a knife to remove the thick brown peel and then go over it with a vegetable peeler to remove any remnants.
Once peeled, cut away any brown streaks, as these parts are no longer fresh. If the entire cassava is riddled with streaks throw it out.
Use of cassava tubers
Cassava is incredibly versatile; it can be boiled, baked, steamed, grilled, fried, mashed, or added to stews. In Seychelles it is cooked in ladob as dessert, turned into chips and grated. From the grated cassava the Seychellois cook makes quite a few dishes including galet, penpen, moukat, coudpwen and magari etc…. These dishes will be described in future posts.
I enjoy my cassava plainly boiled eaten with a tuna curry cooked with coconut milk and turmeric and flavoured with fresh cinnamon leaves and a goat chill cut in two or kari koko ton. My comfort food in winter!
If you wish to boil your cassava, all you need to do is to, cut it in small pieces, peel it, thoroughly wash it and place it in a pot with enough water to cover the cassava pieces. You may wish to add some salt. Boil for about 20-30 minutes or until a fork very easily slides in and out with no effort. Frozen cassava is already cut into pieces and should not be defrosted before boiling. Do not boil your cassava for too long as it will become mushy and sticky. Boiled cassava looks slightly translucent and yellow in color.
Cassava Flour and Tapioca flour
The tubers are also used to produce tapioca flour or lapoud mayok and cassava flour lafarin mayok
While sometimes the terms cassava flour and tapioca flour are used interchangeably, there are in fact distinct differences. Tapioca is a starch extracted from the cassava root through a process of washing and pulping. The wet pulp is then squeezed to extract a starchy liquid. Once all the water evaporates from the starchy liquid, the tapioca flour remains.
Alternatively, cassava flour is the whole root, simply peeled, dried and ground or grated and dried. This means it has more dietary fiber than tapioca flour .
Traditional way of making Cassava Flour and Tapioca
The cassava tubers are first peeled and thoroughly washed under running water to remove all grit and soil. They are then grated on the traditional cassava grater.
The traditional cassava grater used by the Creole cook is a flat one consisting of a metal sheet punctured with rows of small holes. The top of the grater is nailed to a piece of plank of similar width but slightly longer to give the extra support when used. The grated cassava is collected in a flat bowl and has the consistency of very moist porridge. This is then placed in a hessian or muslin bag, tied up and placed, for a few hours, under a heavy object, under which a large container is placed. This process is to extract most of the juice from the cassava. The juice is collected in a container. The grated cassava is then removed from the bag , spread out on a flat surface and any bits that are not properly grated are removed. This is the traditional cassava flour.
The juice is allowed to settle and the powder separates from the liquid. This powder is allowed to dry and was used in the old days to starch clothing. This is the tapioca flour and is not traditionally used in cooking on the islands despite the fact that it is gluten free and with the rise in popularity of gluten-free baking in recent years, tapioca flour has become a staple for many people.Tapioca is also used as a thickening agent in various kinds of foods or recipes — everything from pizza dough to pie filling.It tastes mild and slightly sweet and is one of the purest forms of starch there is.
Cassava Leaves
Although the cassava leaves or fey mayok, form part of the daily diet of many African and Asian communities, in Seychelles they are not that popular despite the fact that they have a very high nutritional value. The nutrient contents in the leaves include fiber, Vitamins A, B1, carbohydrates, Essential Amino Acids and protein.
Cassava leaves don’t have much flavour but absorb any flavouring that you add to them. In Seychelles, one of the few dishes made with cassava leaves is the salted fish in a coconut curry or Kari koko pwason sale.
Any suggestions or comments about this post?
If you have any suggestions or comments relating to this post , please leave your comments below.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Your email address will not be published
