Gluten Free! 5 Things You Need To Know About Cassava Flour

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Video: Gluten Free! 5 Things You Need To Know About Cassava Flour

Video: Gluten Free! 5 Things You Need To Know About Cassava Flour
Video: Kenya: Gluten free cassava flour for a niche market 2024, November
Gluten Free! 5 Things You Need To Know About Cassava Flour
Gluten Free! 5 Things You Need To Know About Cassava Flour
Anonim

Cassava flour has great potential for people on a restricted diet and successfully replaces wheat flour in cooking and baking. But before you go out and buy all the flour you can find in your neighborhood, there are 5 things you really need to know about it.

1. Cassava flour is gluten, grain and nut free

Millions of people in South America and parts of Asia and Africa rely on the cassava plant as part of their basic diet. The plant produces a root (also known as yuca or cassava), which is starchy, high in carbohydrates, similar to sweet potatoes, ordinary potatoes and taro. It is a root without grains and nuts.

2. Cassava flour is not tapioca flour

Tapioca flour
Tapioca flour

It is sometimes confusing because the terms cousin flour and tapioca flour are used interchangeably, but there are some differences between them. Tapioca is a starch extracted from the hair root by washing and melting. The wet pulp is then squeezed to extract the starchy liquid, and after the water has evaporated from this liquid, the tapioca flour remains. Cassava oil, on the other hand, is the whole root - peeled, dried and ground. It has more fiber than tapioca flour, and can be used to make tortillas, which is not possible with tapioca flour.

3. Is cassava flour poisonous?

Cassava
Cassava

No. The flour itself is not poisonous. It is true that cassava root contains naturally occurring cyanide compounds, which are very toxic, but this is only if eaten raw. Traditional crops have been making and eating cassava flour for centuries and have perfected the techniques of soaking, cooking and fermenting cassava to remove toxins. You can be sure that commercially available cassava and tapioca flours do not contain harmful toxins.

4. High carbohydrate content

Cassava flour
Cassava flour

Cassava has double calories and carbohydrates from 100 grams of sweet potatoes, which makes it such a useful food source for millions of people. However, such high carbohydrate levels could mean an insulin spike. If you follow a diet low in carbohydrates and low in sugar, it would be wise to limit your intake of cassava.

5. Cassava flour is closest to wheat in texture and flavor

Gluten-free flour
Gluten-free flour

This feature of cassava flour is what makes it so good for cooking and baking. Unlike other gluten-free flours such as almond or coconut flour, cassava flour is very mild in taste. It also has a soft and powdery texture like wheat flour. It can be used in cooking as a substitute for wheat flour in a ratio of 1: 1 in many (but not all) recipes. Make sure you buy a quality brand of flour for best results.

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