The native tropical plant, manyòk or cassava, has been cultivated in Haiti long before Christopher Columbus was "discovered" by the original Arawak people of the island of Hispanola. The large, starchy roots of manyòk, as long as 3 feet and 6-9 inched in diameter, are harvested and used for a variety of foods. Manyòk has been a staple in the islanders' diet for centuries.

Its starchy roots produce more calories per unit of land than any other crop in the world, except perhaps sugar cane. The leaves of the plants provide vitamins and proteins when eaten as a a vegetable.

Manyòk originated in the Carribean and Central America and was taken to West Africa in the sixteenth century. The Spanish also introduced it to the Philippines and it is now grown in large areas of Africa, Asia and Central and South America.

There are two varieties of manyòk - manyòk dous or sweet cassava (Manihot dulcis) and manyòk amè or bitter cassava (Manihot esculenta). The starchy roots of manyòk dous can be eaten fresh or boiled in a variety of soups. However, the roots of manyòk amè contain a milky juice that is highly poisonous, containing hydrocyanic acid or cyanide. Without proper processing, the juices from these roots are very deadly. The poisonous manyòk played an important role in the early life of the Arawak people who were enslaved by Columbus. These peace-loving people were subjected to terrible hardships and cruelty while being forced to work unceasingly to supply Columbus with gold. The Arawaks finally decided to choose a "better life" by committing mass suicide by drinking the manyòk juice.

Despite its deadly juices, the manyòk amè is the more important of the two varieties. Before cheap wheat flour became readily available, a hard tack bread, kasav, made from the manyòk flour, was the only bread made in Haiti. The large, round kasav cakes are still commonly baked in the Haitian countryside and sold in the local markets. The kasav made in the Nòwes (northwest) providence of Haiti near Trou-de-Nò is especially cherished for its excellent flavor.

Local farmers harvest the manyòk roots and bring them to the manyòk moulen (mill) for processing. The roots are peeled and washed, and placed into a hopper for grinding into flour. In many rural areas of Haiti, a vendor, know as graje manyòk, travels from farm to farm to grind the roots with a large grate or graj. But, here at a mill and bakery in Kayèz, near Trou-de-Nò, the roots are ground up by a rotary mill powered by a gasoline engine.

From the mill, the raw flour is put into large rice sacks and placed in a large screw press. Heavy weights can also be placed on top of the sacks to press out the juices. After the press squeezes out all the remaining poisonous juices, the manyòk flour can be safely eaten. The flour is passed through a sieve to separate the finer flour from the middlings. The middlings are reprocessed by pounding with a pilon (mortar and pestle) and forced again through the sieve. Any manyòk flour, which still does not pass through the sieve, is considered tet manyòk and fed to the animals.

The fine flour that passes through the sieve, or manje pie, is spread out on large, round griddles for baking into the kasav. Kasav is simply the fresh manyòk flour with only a bit of salt added. A half-dozen or so cakes of kasav are stacked and folded once, and sold for about 50 goud (equivalent to about $2.60).

(Go to http://www.garifuna-world.com/cassava.htm to see how another culture, the Garifuna or Black Caribs in Beliz make cassava bread.)

There are also other types of bread made from the fresh manyòk flour. Kasav kokoye, which has grated coconut added to the flour, is a made in some parts of Haiti. Bobori is a thick bread cake made by sandwiching two layers of kasav.

Besides kasav, many other food products are made from the manyòk roots. The flour, after it has dried, is used in many recipes. For example, dumplings made from the flour, called doumbrèy, are added to many sauces and soups. The roots are also diced and dried to make tapioca and other starch products. An alcoholic beverage, called alkòl nazon, is also made from the roots.

As the roots are ground into the raw flour, the poisonous juices are immediately collected for later processing. The starchy juice, after being heated and cooked, loses its poisonous qualities and can be processed into a sauce or porridge called labouyi lamido. The juice can also be combined with cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar to make a thick, syrupy brown sause called cassreep which is used in many Carribean dishes. The fresh manyòk amè flour, or manje pie, can be made into porridge by cooking it with sugar, cinnamon and milk. This is called manje pie labouyi. Porridge made from the dried flour is simply called labouyi manyòk.

The fresh roots of the manyòk dous can be cut up and boiled, making manyòk bouyi.

Flour made from manyòk dous can be cooked with milk and sugar to make a sweet porridge for babies. A sweet confectionery, called bwa bourik, is also made from the manyòk dous flour. Milk, sugar cane syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon and the sweet spice anetwale (anise) is added to the flour. The mix is rolled up in banana leaves and baked over charcoal.

Kokoti or mousa is a dish made from the flour of either type of manyòk. Dry flour is added to boiling water, along with salt and spiced to taste, making a dish the consistency of paste or firm mashed potatoes. This paste, also known as foufou, is served with a fish or meat sauce. (This foufou is not to be confused with the fufu of western Africa, made from cassava flour, which is dipped in a sauce and swallowed, not chewed. In Haiti, it is tonmtonm made from lamveritab (breadfruit) which is eaten like the African fufu.)

Well, if this hasn't wetted your appetite, stop by your local Spanish food store and buy a bag of "potato chips" made from the roots of the most important food plant throughout much of the tropical world, the manyòk.

Comments? Questions? Email StiddemDavid-at-aol.com

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