CASSAVA
Flower Cassava Flour is an amazing, grain-free and
nut-free replacement for wheat flour that can be used as a 1:1
substitute in countless recipes. Cassava flour is gluten,
grain and nut-free. The cassava plant is a staple crop to millions
of inhabitants in South America and parts of Asia and Africa. The
plant produces the cassava root (also known as yuca or manioc), a
starchy, high-carbohydrate tuber like yam, taro, plantains and
potato. As a tuberous root vegetable, cassava is
gluten, grain and nut-free, as well as vegan, .vegetarian and
paleo. Cassava flour is not the same as tapioca
flour 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. This means it has more dietary fiber than tapioca
flour and allows me to make cassava flour tortillas, which
would not be possible with tapioca flour.
Cassava flour is the most like wheat flour (of
gluten-free flours) This is the holy grail characteristic of
cassava flour. Unlike other gluten-free flours such as almond or
coconut flour, cassava flour is very mild and neutral in flavor.
Its also not grainy or gritty in texture rather, its soft and
powdery. These qualities, along with the fact that it
can be replaced on a 1:1 basis with wheat flour in many
recipes, make cassava flour a preferred flour for gluten-free,
grain-free baking and cooking. Its also a great nut-free
flour.
