What Is Cassava (Yuca)?

Cassava is a long tuberous starchy root that is an essential ingredient in many Latin American and Caribbean cuisines. It is eaten mashed, added to stews, and used to make bread and chips. Cassava, also known as yuca, must be cooked or pressed before it's eaten, as it is poisonous in its raw form. When raw, cassava's flesh is white; when cooked, it turns yellow, slightly translucent, and a little sweet and chewy.

What Is Cassava?

Cassava has brown, fibrous skin and a snowy white interior flesh, and is about 2 inches wide and 8 inches long. Other names for cassava are yuca, manioc, mandioca, casabe, and tapioca. While sometimes mistakenly spelled yucca, the yucca is a separate, ornamental plant.

Cassava is native to Brazil and the tropical areas of the Americas. It’s widely grown all over Latin America and the Caribbean and has long been an essential root vegetable in these diets. Since before Columbus’s arrival, cassava has been a staple food of the Taino, Carib, and Arawak population, especially in the form of cassava bread. Because it was so crucial to the culture, Indigenous peoples revered it. Cassava is still eaten throughout the islands today where it is piled high at produce markets. Cassava must be peeled before being used and can vary in price, ranging from six to 10 times more than russet potatoes.

Varieties

There are two varieties of cassava—sweet and bitter. Both contain prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid), which can cause cyanide poisoning; therefore, cassava can never be eaten raw. Cooking or pressing the root thoroughly removes the poison.

You won’t come into contact with bitter cassava in U.S. stores. Sweet cassava is sold in American markets fresh or frozen. Bitter cassava is processed into safe edible flours and starches, which in turn are made into breads, pastries, and cakes. On the French-influenced islands, cassava meal is known as farine, a shortened form of farine de manioc.

Cassava Uses

Cassava is used for both its meat as well as its juice, and before cooking cassava, it must be peeled. The skin not only has high concentrations of hydrocyanic acid but is also bitter tasting and fibrous. Since the outside is more like bark than like the skin of a potato, it is best to use a paring knife instead of a vegetable peeler. Cut off both ends of the cassava, then slice it into about four pieces. One at a time, stand up a piece on a cutting board (so the cut-side is down), and using the paring knife, remove the skin cutting from the top of the piece to the bottom, trying not to take off too much of the white flesh. (This technique is similar to cutting a pineapple.) Rotate the piece, continuing to slice off the bark. Quarter each piece and remove the woody core as you would in a pineapple.

How to Cook With Cassava

Cassava is incredibly versatile. It can be boiled, baked, steamed, grilled, fried, mashed, made into chips, or added to stews. Most often it is mashed, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and lime juice, and served with meat. It can be used to make dough for empanadas and tamales as well as tapioca, which thickens puddings. Cassareep, an essential ingredient in Guyanese pepperpot, is a concoction of boiled down cassava juice combined with other spices.

In Jamaica, bam-bam is the collective term used for food made from cassava such as bread, pancakes, and muffins. Bammy, or bammie, is thick bread made from cassava flour. It’s usually eaten with fried fish or saltfish and ackee. Dominicans make a savory yuca turnover called cativias.

What Does It Taste Like?

Cassava root has a subtle taste that is earthy, slightly sweet, and nutty, with a touch of bitterness. Because it is mild, it benefits from being cooked along with strong-flavored ingredients.

Cassava Recipes

Sweet cassava can be treated similarly to potatoes. Grated bitter yuca is used to make casabe, which is a traditional crisp, unleavened flatbread popular in the Dominican Republic.

• Bojo Coconut and Cassava Cake
• Stuffed Yuca Balls
• Creamed Cassava With Roasted Garlic

Where to Buy Cassava

Depending on where you live, you may be able to find cassava root in the produce section of your local grocery store. Otherwise, it can be found in Latin and Caribbean markets. Cassava is also sold frozen and in flour and meal form.

Because it bruises easily, it’s often sold covered in a protective wax coating. When buying cassava roots, look for firm roots with no soft spots. Also, if possible, buy whole roots that have not had their ends removed. If the cassava is cut, make sure the flesh is a snowy white without any black discoloration. It should smell fresh and clean.

Storage

Unpeeled cassava should be stored in a cool, dry place like the pantry. Once the cassava is peeled, it will last up to a month in the refrigerator if covered with water, with the water changed every two days. Yuca can also be frozen for several months.