GETTING TO KNOW TAPIOCA AND CASSAVA

Tapioca is starch made from fresh cassava. To make tapioca, cassava is grated or ground, mixed with water, and then filtered or pressed. This process produces liquid and leftover pulp. The liquid is left to settle, and the pulp is usually thrown away or used as animal feed. Once the starch settles at the bottom, the water is removed, and the starch is dried, either under the sun or using a dryer. Tapioca can be produced at home or in large factories. Most tapioca in Indonesia is used to make meatballs and crackers.

Cassava powder is different from tapioca. It still contains some fiber from the cassava. To make cassava powder (also called gaplek flour), fresh cassava is peeled, cut in half, and dried under the sun. The dried cassava is called gaplek. Then it is ground into flour, and the hard woody part in the center (sontrot) is removed. In some parts of Indonesia, especially in Java, this flour is used to make tiwul, a traditional food that’s steamed and eaten as a rice substitute. In modern industries, cassava powder is often mixed with corn, soybean meal, and fishmeal to make animal feed. Since gaplek is made using different local methods, its quality is hard to make consistent.

Cassava flour is also made from fresh cassava. The cassava is peeled, washed, and grated using a grater with big holes to make sawut. When steamed, this becomes sawut, a traditional dish similar to rice. Cassava can also be sliced into thin chips. These grated or sliced pieces are then dried and ground into flour. In some methods, the starch is removed first by pressing, and then the leftover pulp is dried and ground. The final cassava flour can be a mix of both starch and dried pulp.

Cassava flour is a new product in Indonesia. In the past, people only knew tapioca and gaplek flour. These traditional flours have been used to make many types of food and can actually replace wheat flour in certain recipes. Why? Because we still import wheat!

Wheat flour has gluten, which is important for making traditional noodles, martabak (stuffed pancake), and soft sandwich bread. But for cookies, sweet breads, and cakes like brownies, wheat flour can be replaced. Cassava flour is one of the best options because its texture, color, and taste are similar to wheat flour. The main difference is that cassava flour has no gluten, so it can't be used to make stretchy dough like for martabak.

Another alternative is MOCAF (Modified Cassava Flour), which is also made from cassava, but with a different process.

Stay tuned for more about MOCAF!

sumber:https://ketahananpangan.boyolali.go.id/