 Fresh cassava roots are currently consumed
in four ways: naturally, and as products processed in the home, by traditional means, or
by industry.
- Human consumption. Although cassava roots are usually not consumed raw
because they contain poisonous cyanogenic glucosides, they are eaten immediately after
simple and economical processing. The roots of sweet cassava varieties, that is, those
with low contents of cyanogenic glucosides, are chosen and cooked as vegetables: boiled,
fried, steamed, or baked.
- Animal feed. Animals such as pigs and ruminants are either fed the
roots directly after simple processing to eliminate toxicity or mixed with nutritional
supplements.
 Home processing, carried out in the home
kitchen, refers to products made from cassava but mixed with other ingredients, for
example, desserts, breads, biscuits, puddings, beverages, soups, and main dishes.
 Rural producers have developed numerous procedures to stabilize and
eliminate cassava’s toxic qualities. This has led to a great variety of traditional
products, which fall into three main groups:
- Dry products: fermented or non-fermented flours (e.g., farinha),
dry-cooked cassava.
- Semi-moist products: boiled cassava, fermented pastes (e.g., fufu).
- Wet products: fermented or non-fermented beverages.
As
the products vary from region to region, these have been grouped in accordance with their
place of origin:
 Changes generated by the urbanization of
consumer habits and preferences, urban migration, and the increased number of women
entering the job market have increased demand for products that are easy and quick to
prepare. They have also resulted in reduced consumption of fresh cassava in urban centers
and have recently presented entrepreneurs with an opportunity to introduce different
products and presentations of fresh cassava roots, such as:
These products are destined for those
urban consumers of average and higher strata, restaurants, and fast-food outlets who can
pay higher prices. Although, the market for
these products is expanding, it is still not as large as that for fresh cassava.
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