Cassareep

Submitted by WizzyTheStick

"A thick, aromatic flavouring syrup made from the juice of the bitter cassava. It is used as a basis for various sauces and as a culinary flavoring and preservative agent in Recipe #192669. It is exported chiefly from Guyana. The main Amerindian tribes of the Caribbean were the Carib (from whom the region takes it's name) and the Arawaks. My grandmother was part Carib. The Caribs were themselves displaced by the Europeans, and were eventually all but exterminated during the colonial period. However small numbers remain today in Guyana, Honduras, Belize and in the islands of Dominica, Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad. http://www.guyanaundersiege.com/Amerindian/Amerindian%20Corner.htm shows a picture of a matapee, which is a traditional woven basket used to squeeze the juice from the cassava."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Yields: 2 cups
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 lbs bitter cassava
• 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar

directions

1. Peel, wash and grate the cassava. Place one cup of shredded cassava in a clean dish towel(cheese cloth or matapee) and twist, squeezing over a large saucepan to extract as much liquid as possible.
2. The amount of liquid in the cassava may vary according to the age and quality of the roots available.
3. WARNING: you do not want to use this liquid without cooking it as it is poisonous. Cooking destroys the poison.
4. The remaining cassava meal can be reserved for making tapioca, cassava bread or cassava pone (Recipe #192540).
5. Combine the liquid in a saucepan with cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until liquid becomes a thick syrup. (just before like a molasses-like consistency).
6. Store in a tightly sealed glass container. (Keeps for up to 3 weeks).

Reviews

[kaewonder]

i would not recommend using this recipe, nor giving it out for public use til it is actually tested.. There are so many variables with the cassava that it makes it very hard to achieve the results described here and I can see why most buy their cassareep from stores. On first attempt, I used a juicer ( I cleaned all parts using boiling water after), reserved the liquid and followed the steps EXACTLY. got a tapioca mess. Figuring I'd agitated the starches by whipping it too much, I decided to go the old school way. 2nd attempt: After peeling washing and grating my cassava, i then wrang it out in cheesecloth put the liquid in the saucepan to come to a boil (the recipe does not indicate whether to bring it to a slow boil or to put the liquid on hi- I started low until it boiled. Once it started boiling, it formed a gooey slime that immediately seized up around the cinnmon stick, making it gelatinous tapioca mess Part 2. I can only assume that I gravely messed up somewhere along the line, but where? Did I just buy bad cassava? boil too aggressively? not use the right type of saucepan? I'm confused, and now have to go buy store bought cassareep.