History
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) was cultivated long ago by the South American populations when the Portuguese Cabral landed in Brazil with its crew. They used it to make flour. Jean de Lery, a French navigator referred to cassava root in his travelogue The story of a journey into the land of Brazil, that is America.
Its introduction in Martinique is unknown. Either cassava is endemic to the island, or he would have been brought by the Arawaks and the Caribbean.
What is sure is that cassava already existed in the French islands before the arrival of settlers in the area. RP Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre says in his book Natural History Caribbean inhabited by the French: "Everyone is surprised in France, that in all the islands, there is growing no wheat and admires in the same time as men can live a root of bread, whose juice is a poison that kills a man one spoonful; and wild instead consider the Frenchmen unfortunate, because in their country there is no cassava."
Its name comes from mandihocat Brazilian.
Varieties
There are 42 different varieties of cassavas. These differ in the types of cassava, sweet cassava and bitter cassava. The Carib Indians made already the difference between the two. If both types are convertible into moussache flour (a kind of flour that is used to make flour), only sweet cassava can be eaten as a vegetable.
Cassava is unfit for human consumption if it is not detoxified and whose dried roots are processed into tapioca, cassava or flour.
Cassava is a gnarled shrub with stems and tuberous roots.
Sweet Cassava or Ka manioc (name used in Martinique for sweet cassava) whose roots can be directly consumed. Ka manioc can reach 4 meters high. Its roots are between 30 and 50 cm and weigh between 2 and 5 kilos. The plant looks like the bitter cassava used for making flour but the benefit of ka cassava is the possibility to consume it directly as a vegetable that is not the case of the bitter cassava which contains a toxic product that must be extracted.
Ka manioc tubers are harvested 6 months after planting.
Health benefits
Rich in water, cassava is an energy plant. Its low content of minerals means it should be consumed with other foods rich in iron and calcium.
Cassava is known for its digestive properties and anti-diarrheal. It also helps fight against gastroenteritis.
The leaves are used to treat eye problems.
Uses
Cassava is consumed in Martinique mainly in flour. Flour is used in the composition of féroce d'avocat (a local entree prepared with avocado and codfish). Flour mixes well with red beans, white beans and lentils. Cassava flour is called gari in Africa.
Ka cassava can be eaten as tubers by cooking in boiling water. But we can also use it to make flour, cassava, ice cream, fritters or pastries.
The leaves are eaten in Africa as a vegetable. They are rich in vitamins A and C.
For more information on cassava, you can visit the Case à manioc.
