From plant to flour “Cassava roots”

From plant to flour “cassava roots”.
When Peter (my husband) and I first started talking about food security, one of our concerns was access to a good healthy gluten free flour. The two flours we use the most, in our household are almond and cassava.
Almonds I am still thinking about. I would have to find the perfect microclimate spot for it, or it won’t grow here. Almonds are picky. They don’t like drying out and they don’t like sitting in water. It’s also a bit hot for them here where we live.
It’s different with Cassava. Cassava is a root in the yucca family. They love water, and they love the sun and heat even more.
This experiment started a couple of years ago. I keep getting better, but are still not getting a lot of roots. I  planted 4 plants in February and 4 plants in Maj. The ones I plants in February never rooted, and we didn’t get very large roots on the others, which leaves me to conclude several things from the observations I have done since planting. I will need to start them indoors, so they get a longer growing season without the exposure to frost. Once they have settled in, they had no problems with the light frost we got in December and January.  I will also make sure there are looser soil with more organic matter, to add nutrients and make it easier to spread out.  I also planted the other plants with them, and that restricted them as well. I won’t do that next time. I am also going to do some more research to figure out if there are anything else I can do.
Anyway, we did get about 2 pounds of roots, and I bought an additional 15 pounds of roots, so I could go ahead and make flour.  I wanted to do it now, before I committed to growing more, to see how tough the processing would be.
It was interesting to see that the sender had dipped the roots in wax before shipping to extend shelf life. I am going to make a note of that. Normally they go bad pretty quick.
The roots were first peeled and then boiled. Once cooled down, we mashed them and froze them on trays and then freeze dried them for 30 hours on 150F.
Then I broke it into pieces and ground them up in my grain mill.
“Note that you can’t use a stone grain mill. You need one of the ones that has a steel blade”
Last I ran them through a shifter to get any little bits and pieces out of the flour.
Then all that was left, was to pack it in a Mylar bag with a Selica bag and an oxygen absorber, and put them in the freezer.
All research I did, said that the flour will go bad unless you store it in the freezer. Now, keep in mind, that I used a freeze dryer. All the tutorials I could find online used a dehydrator or an oven to dry the roots. I don’t know if freeze drying will extend the life of the flour, but I hope it will.
Conclusions:
I will need to start the roots inside, as soon as I have harvested roots outside, and then plant them out in April/May when there no longer are any risk of frost damage.
Make sure the roots get plenty of water. We didn’t always do that, and they suffered for it.
Dip the roots in wax, if you can’t process them right away
The boiling and mashing method works really well for making a nice flour. At some point I want to try the raw method, where the roots are fermented instead of boiled.
You can definitely with very little work grow your own cassava roots for flour, if you life down south in grow zone 10+. We are in grow zone 10a, people in zone 11 or hotter won’t get any frost, and will not have to start the plants indoors.
The processing wasn’t too bad. Most of my problems was from not knowing my grain mill well enough yet. I am also very happy I bought an electric shifter. It would have taken way too much work, shifting it all by hand.

Thank you for sharing this with everyone, it is quite the undertaking.

Can I ask why you chose to freeze dry in your process? Was it more convenient towards the process or was extending storage in mind? Just curious

Great photos as well!

Timothy Norton wrote:Thank you for sharing this with everyone, it is quite the undertaking.

Can I ask why you chose to freeze dry in your process? Was it more convenient towards the process or was extending storage in mind? Just curious

Great photos as well!

I had to dry it, in order to get flour, and my freeze dryer wasn’t running anything. It was also a lot faster than if I had used my small dehydrator, and I wanted a lower temperature than the oven will give you, to lock in nutrients. Cassava root are notoriously fast to expire. Normally they have to be processed within 2 days of harvesting. Also, all of the research I have done, says that unless you store in the freezer,  it goes rancid within 3 months.
All of this had information lead me to choosing freeze drying before I milled it. My hope is, that the freeze drying process will extend the shelf live of the flour. The cassava flour I buy, doesn’t go rancid, so commercial farmers must be doing something to extend the shelf life.

Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Where did you get your casava tubers? from?

John Rains wrote:

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Where did you get your casava tubers? from?

Originally I got them on Etsy. They are pretty expensive though, which is why we want a dedicated space for them. We usually harvest in March and plant again right away, since it’s just a question of cutting the branches into 11 inch pieces, and then just put them back into the soil. It has to be in spring, so the plants can grow big, before the weather gets colder. Otherwise they won’t develop roots. We do this in March. It’s a kind of strange, that it doesn’t grow from the tubers, only from cuttings.
As for the tubers, you can also get those on Etsy, but keep in mind, that the tubers go back very quickly.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

John Rains wrote:

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Where did you get your casava tubers? from?

Originally I got them on Etsy. They are pretty expensive though, which is why we want a dedicated space for them. We usually harvest in March and plant again right away, since it’s just a question of cutting the branches into 11 inch pieces, and then just put them back into the soil. It has to be in spring, so the plants can grow big, before the weather gets colder. Otherwise they won’t develop roots. We do this in March. It’s a kind of strange, that it doesn’t grow from the tubers, only from cuttings.
As for the tubers, you can also get those on Etsy, but keep in mind, that the tubers go back very quickly.

Thanks for that info..

I am in Florida, I have 3 different varieties of cassava.    It is at this time of year I cut them and plant them in the ground for next years crop.     I like to pile up leaves at the base of the cassava.        I am making myself learn how to cook and use these, I started with just a few sticks of these now I have to keep looking for space for where I can plant them.        Having a crop that I can just plant and walk away from is awesome.

I used to harvest and plant in Now/Dec too, but first year we grew them, but I only had 20% develop roots. Starting them indoors, was a mess, since my nursery isn’t that big. I did some research (don’t ask me where), that said to harvest and plant in March, so that’s what I trying now. I have only grown these the last 3 years. Last year the place I planted them in wasn’t secured enough, so I lost a lot to gophers and rats. I only have 6 plants left, so now we are setting up a permanent raised bed, where we can keep the gophers and rats out. Then in March we will harvest, and then fill the bed with cuttings.
My hope is to grow enough, so that don’t have to buy flour. Due to celiac we don’t use grains for bread, instead we use cassava and almonds flour.

@martin hale
"I am in Florida, I have 3 different varieties of cassava."

What are the varieties that you grow?  Also, do you cut the stalks down now, and save them to replant next spring?

Also--- cassava should never ever be washed from coming out of the soil-- it has microbial activity on the outside of the root; keep this intact and place in a dark well vented area and it will keep for weeks on end... No washing or waxing needed... I learned this from The Reid Nursery in Deland, Florida...

Nice work. Sounds like you have an interesting process. I'm surprised that you boil the cassava first; I would be concerned that it modifies the starch structure and would change the behavior of the flour.

Here in Africa the fresh root is fermented in water for three days. It gets mushy and the rest of the process is just like you do it. This way it is a raw starch.

Thomas Skipper wrote:
Also--- cassava should never ever be washed from coming out of the soil-- it has microbial activity on the outside of the root; keep this intact and place in a dark well vented area and it will keep for weeks on end... No washing or waxing needed...  

Yes!
This idea of eating in a few days surprised me-- we eat a lot of cassava here and it's shipped from the fields and sold and then i keep it for a while-- all just fine, probably a question of weeks. often because of their size the roots are chopped in half and the cut edges will get nasty, but the roots remain intact. Just brush off the extra dirt and they'll be fine.

We let ours grow usually a year and a half, depending on the weather. Zone 9/10 may be pushing it, hotter than that you get really nice cassava that gets 2 m tall and huge roots. And yet my mother in law in Zone 10 grows it in garbage soil in her rooftop garden in the city, and gets edible roots.

Here people often peel and boil, to eat it like a potato, but the tradition of making it into flour involves shredding it, pressing it to remove the liquids, and then drying. there are certain types that need to be cooked or fermented and others that don't.

Thomas Skipper wrote:
@martin hale
"I am in Florida, I have 3 different varieties of cassava."

What are the varieties that you grow?  Also, do you cut the stalks down now, and save them to replant next spring?

Also--- cassava should never ever be washed from coming out of the soil-- it has microbial activity on the outside of the root; keep this intact and place in a dark well vented area and it will keep for weeks on end... No washing or waxing needed... I learned this from The Reid Nursery in Deland, Florida...

Looks like I have 4 types...
Togo
CMC 40
Yuca Manihot Esculent    ( the one I got from Africa off Ebay )    
One I got from David the Good, I don't know the variety..

As for keeping the tubers, I don't pull it from the ground then store, I only pull it when I am ready to cook it, but I have room to do that.    

As for the stalks,    I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall,  so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring.         I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.

I have not tried the fermenting method, I have heard of that being done, but I have no experience in doing it.       I am curious about it as I have heard others doing it with tree spinach.

Skipper is that you from telegram?    

Mart

I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.

Mart Hale wrote:
As for the stalks,    I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall,  so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring.         I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.

That’s interesting. We live in Growzone 10b, and I have never had any success when I plant them in fall. When I do that, they don’t develop any roots. That’s why I have switched to planting in March, an advise I got from a gardener friend. I wonder why you can do it that way, when I can’t.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.

The freeze dryer is going to pull  out the moisture......

What I am now thinking of doing is 1) boil the cassava in instant pot till soft,      2) remove cores.    3)  blend in vitamix adding water,  put in fridge for a day...     Bring out strain thru cheese cloth.....    

When I get off my diet,   this looks like the path I want to travel down.     The bitterness in mine is an after taste, not terrible, but I imagine with dumping the water, and increasing the surface area I will see huge improvements..

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:
As for the stalks,    I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall,  so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring.         I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.

That’s interesting. We live in Growzone 10b, and I have never had any success when I plant them in fall. When I do that, they don’t develop any roots. That’s why I have switched to planting in March, an advise I got from a gardener friend. I wonder why you can do it that way, when I can’t.

I am special LOL

Some suggestions.

I have put over 10 inches of wood chips on my soil about 6 years ago which has all composted and mixed with the sand so the higher humus in my soil might be a factor...         I have heard the soil can be very very poor in your area, that also may be a factor,    I have only certain areas of my land that the cassava does well in,     In those areas I am putting more and more cassava,      We have seen temps of down to 25 deg in this area, so  that may be a factor, or it could be the variety of cassava that may play a role.      But all 4 varieties of cassava I have work with this method.

My uncle, the legendary farmer (among our family) always said August was the time to plant cassava --- early spring in a hot zone 10ish. He also planted in the waxing moon, never waning.

Mart Hale wrote:

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.

The freeze dryer is going to pull  out the moisture......

What I am now thinking of doing is 1) boil the cassava in instant pot till soft,      2) remove cores.    3)  blend in vitamix adding water,  put in fridge for a day...     Bring out strain thru cheese cloth.....    

When I get off my diet,   this looks like the path I want to travel down.     The bitterness in mine is an after taste, not terrible, but I imagine with dumping the water, and increasing the surface area I will see huge improvements..

The freeze dryer fulling out the moisture is why I use it. If I don’t dry it, I can’t grind it into flour, which is the whole purpose of why I grow cassava. The method i proscribed in the original post, works really really well. I get amazing cassava flour out of it.

[quote=Mart Hale


I am special LOL

Some suggestions.

I have put over 10 inches of wood chips on my soil about 6 years ago which has all composted and mixed with the sand so the higher humus in my soil might be a factor...         I have heard the soil can be very very poor in your area, that also may be a factor,    I have only certain areas of my land that the cassava does well in,     In those areas I am putting more and more cassava,      We have seen temps of down to 25 deg in this area, so  that may be a factor, or it could be the variety of cassava that may play a role.      But all 4 varieties of cassava I have work with this method.

Our soil is actually fantastic. I have spend 10 years transforming it from dirt to dark rich soil. It has been a lot of work, but worth it. Also, I grow my cassava in a raised bed, that has a lot of compost in it. I add compost to my beds twice a year, and I use a lot of mulch too, but not 10 inches. I mostly use straw mulch for my plants, since experience has showed me, that wood chip mulch, won’t compost here.

Nigerian method of making the flower with bitter cassava..


Soaking for 3 days, the skin comes right off...  interesting.

Interesting, I don't see her soaking the cassava when she makes the flour....    

I like 3rd party testing......

The results from these tests sure are troubling.