Long, brown-skinned tuber with starchy white flesh. Cooks similarly to potato but with denser, slightly sweeter texture. Provides 78g carbohydrate per cup cooked, with 4g fiber and notable vitamin C, B6, magnesium, and copper. Develops resistant starch when cooled after cooking.
Available fresh and frozen at Latin, Caribbean, West African, and Asian groceries. Affordable per pound. Cassava flour available for grain-free baking. Gari (fermented cassava granules) at West African markets.
Like dasheen, cassava forms resistant starch when cooked and cooled — feeding gut bacteria and producing short-chain fatty acids. The vitamin C content (40-50% DV per cup) is notable for a starchy root and supports iron absorption when paired with bean stews or greens. For Black Americans whose ancestors ate cassava for centuries in both Africa and the Caribbean, this is a return-to-lineage food: the body recognizes it. Traditional fermented cassava (gari, fufu) further increases bioavailability and reduces antinutrients — the fermentation step was ancestral biotechnology.
Peel thick brown skin and inner pink layer. Boil in chunks 20-30 minutes until fork-tender. Use in soups, mash, fry as yuca fries, or grate raw for fritters/cassava bread. NEVER eat raw — contains cyanogenic glycosides that must be cooked off. To maximize resistant starch: boil, cool overnight, reheat gently before serving.
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