Cassava-based dishes

A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava (Manihot esculenta, also called 'manioc' or 'yuca') is cultivated, and the ingredient is included many national or ethnic specialities.

As a food ingredient, cassava root is somewhat similar to the potato in that it is starchy and bland in flavor when cooked. The many similarities between cassava and potato make them decent substitutes for each other. Cassava can be prepared in similar ways to potato; it can be boiled, mashed, fried or even baked. Unlike the potato, however, cassava is mostly a tropical crop, and its peculiar characteristics have led to some unique recipes, such as sweet puddings, which have no common potato version.

In some parts of the world (chiefly in Africa and some Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, cassava leaves are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Raw cassava, especially the bitter variety, contains cyanogenic glycosides and normally must be cooked before eating or turned into a stable intermediate product by passing through a series of processes to reduce the toxins in the cassava to a level safe for human consumption. The typical process in West Africa and Central America includes peeling, mashing, fermenting, sun-drying and toasting. Popular intermediate products obtained from processing cassava tubers include garri, tapioca and cassava flour.