{"id":31964,"date":"2011-08-16T05:30:47","date_gmt":"2011-08-16T11:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=31964"},"modified":"2015-12-23T19:48:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-24T02:48:59","slug":"manioc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=31964","title":{"rendered":"Manioc and Tapiocas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many many moons ago, while taking an Archaeology of South America<\/em> course in university, we learned about a “strange but wondrous” (not my words) root that is one of the main starch staples of South America: the manioc root. While in Fortaleza, I finally got to experience first hand what all the fuss was about.<\/p>\n

Also known as yuca or cassava, manioc is often ground into a white flour and used in making tapiocas. Tapioca is a treat specific to Northern Brazil; and, even for some of my co-workers from the South, it was their first time eating tapioca.<\/p>\n

In the morning it is common to see a line up of people at the tapioca counter waiting for fried manioc stuffed with cheese. A couple of scoops of manioc from the bowl above go into the frying pan, in a few minutes it’s rubbery and waiting to be rolled with filling. <\/p>\n

My personal preference was for banana and cinnamon. <\/p>\n

The best tapioca of the trip was a coconut version made at the Santa Clara Cafe at the Drag\u00e3o do Mar Center. More doughy than chewy, it was the perfect combination of manioc flour and coconut.<\/p>\n