Food Uses of Cassava

A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions of the world where where cassava is cultivated, and these dishes include many national or ethnic specialities.

As a food ingredient, cassava root is somewhat similar to the potato, in that, like the potato, it is starchy, inedible when raw, and bland in flavor when cooked. Indeed, cassava can replace the potato in many dishes and can be prepared in similar ways – it can be boiled, mashed, fried or baked. Unlike the potato, however, cassava is mostly a tropical crop, and its peculiar characteristics have led to some unique recipes, such as sweet puddings, which have no common potato version. In some parts of the world (particularly in Africa and Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia and the Philippines), cassava leaves are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Raw cassava, especially the bitter varieties, contain cyanogenic glycosides and normally need to be prepared with some combination of boiling, fermenting, or sun drying to avoid the possibility of cyanide poisoning.

In the Philippines, cassava cake (bibingkang kamoteng kahoy) is one of the most popular and enjoyed homemade delicacies or snacks. Made from grated cassava, the grated root crop is mixed with coconut milk, eggs, butter and topped with a creamy milk mixture. It is alternately called cassava bibingka.

Cassava cake is usually baked in round “leche flan” tin molds. The traditional sweet delicacy makes one salivate just at the mere mention of it. It is a simple dish to make but is very delicious, and is often present in celebrations of special occasions.

Filipinos widely prepare cassava as a dessert. Traditional methods of preparation include steaming, mashing, grating, boiling, and frying. It is made into bibingka, suman, puto, pudding, chips (kabkab), cassava cake, cassava balls, pancakes, or boiled and coated with caramelized sugar.