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Couac, also called kwak in Guianese Creole and farinha de mandioca in Portuguese, is flour made from cassava root, peeled, soaked in water, grated and drained to remove the poisonous cyanide it contains. Cassava roots are sold in markets as the kramangnok (cramanioc) for sweet varieties, and processed under the kwak names; kasav, cassava, sispa, tapioca or crabio for bitter varieties. Couac is widely eaten by the inhabitants of Brazil and the Guianas (Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana).
Archaeological research has shown that the cassava (yucca) was originally cultivated 4,000 years ago the Peru. This culture, specifically the Americas, preceded the maize in many areas. But pre-Columbian food quickly organized around the corn and cassava. Its root was the food of the Indians of the pre-colonial era. The Spaniards despised that foodstuff reserved for the African slaves, who made it their staple food. [1]
Cassava is the staple food in many countries of Latin America. Culture extends north of Argentina until Mexico, via the Caribbean. In French Guiana, archaeological evidence of Native Americans by cassava are observable in the region of Iracoubo in the form of raised fields (earth mounds spaced evenly forming pits on aerial images) in areas currently occupied by savanna or forest. Cassava carries various names: yucca, mandioca, mañoco, tapioca, etc. Its edible part is its roots, but its leaves can also be eaten. [1]
This is a more or less dry coarse semolina that range in color from bright yellow to gray to white is traditionally made from bitter cassava varieties. [2]
The preparation technique has not changed over the centuries. Tubers are first peeled and then pulped using the grating board: a wooden plank with embedded small quartz crystals or a sheet of metal with sharp dents. [3] (Now, where possible a grinder to replace this instrument).
The resulting slurry is then introduced into a snake (couleuvre), an elongated tubular basketry, carved often provided with a loop at each end. The snake is then stretched to press the dough and squeeze the toxic juice (cyanide). The latter is recovered and then detoxified in turn by long cooking, and can be eaten as a soup.
The flour is generally concentrated in the bottom of the snake. Sometimes it is then allowed to rest a few days so it turns and takes a stronger taste. The pulp is then crumbled and sieved using a braided Manaré to extract wood fibers and chunks. [2] The couac is considered unalterable flour, resistant to insects and moisture. [3]
| Composant | Bright yellow % | Yellow gray % | White % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humidity | 11,30 | 10,70 | 9,00 |
| Lipid | 0,40 | 0,25 | 0,20 |
| Protein | 1,84 | 2,05 | 1,26 |
| Fiber | 1,90 | 2,60 | 2,25 |
| Carbohydrate | 83,46 | 83,10 | 85,99 |
| Ash | 1,10 | 1,30 | 1,30 |
The resulting shredded pressed to extract the juice that contains toxic cyanide. If allowed to stand some time, he turns and takes a stronger taste. The dried pulp is then crumbled and sieved in a Manaré braided to extract fibers and pieces. Semolina obtained is roasted on a large steel plate (originally earthenware) posed on a fire. During the cooking, she returned permanently to prevent it agglomerates. This cassava flour (farinha de mandioca in Brazil) now takes the name of quack. Absorbent, it replaces the bread. It can be eaten alone, in salads, grilled fried or in gratin. [2] Detoxified and compressed pulp is sometimes sold in the markets. There are several colors (from white to yellow) and several sizes. [4]
Absorbent, the couac replaces bread at every meal. Long and easy conservation, nourishing, naturally dehydrated, it ideally between the people staying in the forest menu. In the 18th century, Rozier and Chaptal explained that the browned and smoked couac was the only food of the travelers who boarded the Amazon river. And with a supply of ten pounds a man had enough to live fifteen days. [3]
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe.
Manihot esculenta, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca, is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy root tuber, a major source of carbohydrates. Though it is often called yuca in parts of Spanish America and in the United States, it is not related to yucca, a shrub in the family Asparagaceae. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are used to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian farinha, and the related garri of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it.
Tapioca is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant, a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. It is a perennial shrub adapted to the hot conditions of tropical lowlands. Cassava copes better with poor soils than many other food plants.
Brazilian cuisine is the set of cooking practices and traditions of Brazil, and is characterized by European, Amerindian, African, and Asian influences. It varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of native and immigrant populations, and its continental size as well. This has created a national cuisine marked by the preservation of regional differences..
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Fufu is a pounded meal found in West African cuisine. It is a Twi word that originates from the Akans in Ghana. The word, however, has been expanded to include several variations of the pounded meal found in other African countries including Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Angola and Gabon.
The yacón is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Their texture and flavour are very similar to jícama, mainly differing in that yacón has some slightly sweet, resinous, and floral undertones to its flavour, probably due to the presence of inulin, which produces the sweet taste of the roots of elecampane, as well. Another name for yacón is Peruvian ground apple, possibly from the French name of potato, pomme de terre. The tuber is composed mostly of water and fructooligosaccharide.
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A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread.
Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.
Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from the hundreds of ethnic groups that comprise Nigeria. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated, and the ingredient is included many national or ethnic specialities.
Vegetable chips are chips (crisps) that are prepared using vegetables other than potatoes. Vegetable chips may be fried, deep-fried, dehydrated, dried or baked. Many different root vegetables or leaf vegetables may be used. Vegetable chips may be eaten as a snack food, and may accompany other foods such as dips, or be used as a topping on dishes. In the United States, vegetable chips are often mass-produced, with many brands marketed to consumers.
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