Cassareep
Encyclopedia
Cassareep is a thick black liquid made from cassava
root, often with additional spices, which is used as a base for many sauces and especially in Guyanese pepperpot. Besides use as a flavoring and browning agent, it also acts as a preservative
. Its antiseptic
characteristics have led to medical application as an ointment, most notably in the treatment of certain eye diseases.
Cassareep is made from the juice of the bitter cassava
root, which is poisonous (it contains large amounts of hydrogen cyanide, traditionally called "prussic acid" and blamed for many deaths) if it is not cooked properly. The acid is volatile and quickly dissipates when heated. Amerindians from Guyana reportedly made an antidote by steeping chillies in rum
.
To make cassareep, the juice is boiled until it is reduced by half in volume, to the consistency of molasses
and flavored with spices--including cloves, cinnamon
, salt
, sugar
, and cayenne pepper
. Traditionally, cassareep was boiled in a soft pot, the actual "pepper pot", which would absorb the flavors and also impart them (even if dry) to foods such as rice and chicken cooked in it.
Most cassareep is export
ed from Guyana
. The natives of Guyana traditionally brought the product to town in bottles, and it is available on the US market
in bottled form. Though the cassava root traveled from Brazil to Africa, where the majority of cassava is grown, there is no production of cassareep in Africa.
Cassareep is essential in the preparation of pepperpot, and gives the dish its "distinctive bittersweet flavor." Cassareep can also be used as an added flavoring to dishes, "imparting upon them the richness and flavour of strong beef-soup."
A peculiar quality of cassareep, which works as an antiseptic
, is that it allows food to be kept "on the back of the stove" for indefinite lengths of time, as long as additional cassareep is added every time meat is added. According to legend, Betty Mascoll of Grenada
had a pepperpot that was maintained like this for more than a century. Dutch planters in Suriname
reportedly had pepperpots in daily use that they kept cooking for many years, as did "businessmen's clubs" in the Caribbean.
In the mid- to late nineteenth century, as reports of adventures by English explorers became widely read in England, statements about cassareep and its antiseptic qualities became easily available; an early example was a publication in The Pharmaceutical Journal
from 1847, and similar references can be found throughout the late nineteenth century, such as in the work of Irish naturalist and explorer Thomas Heazle Parke
and in pharmaceutical and trade journals. Professor Attfield, professor of practical chemistry for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
, however, in the 1870 edition of the Year-book of Pharmacy, claimed that his laboratory studies proved no effectiveness whatsoever. Still, pharmaceutical journals and handbooks began to report of the possible use of cassareep, and suggested it might be helpful in the treatment of, for instance, eye afflictions such as corneal ulcer
s and conjunctivitis
.
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
root, often with additional spices, which is used as a base for many sauces and especially in Guyanese pepperpot. Besides use as a flavoring and browning agent, it also acts as a preservative
Preservative
A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes....
. Its antiseptic
Antiseptic
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...
characteristics have led to medical application as an ointment, most notably in the treatment of certain eye diseases.
Production
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
root, which is poisonous (it contains large amounts of hydrogen cyanide, traditionally called "prussic acid" and blamed for many deaths) if it is not cooked properly. The acid is volatile and quickly dissipates when heated. Amerindians from Guyana reportedly made an antidote by steeping chillies in rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
.
To make cassareep, the juice is boiled until it is reduced by half in volume, to the consistency of molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
and flavored with spices--including cloves, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, and cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper
The cayenne pepper—also known as the Guinea spice,cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper,or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper—is a red, hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum...
. Traditionally, cassareep was boiled in a soft pot, the actual "pepper pot", which would absorb the flavors and also impart them (even if dry) to foods such as rice and chicken cooked in it.
Most cassareep is export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
ed from Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. The natives of Guyana traditionally brought the product to town in bottles, and it is available on the US market
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in bottled form. Though the cassava root traveled from Brazil to Africa, where the majority of cassava is grown, there is no production of cassareep in Africa.
Culinary use
Cassareep is used for two distinct goals, that originate from two important aspects of the ingredient: its particular flavor, and its preservative quality.Cassareep is essential in the preparation of pepperpot, and gives the dish its "distinctive bittersweet flavor." Cassareep can also be used as an added flavoring to dishes, "imparting upon them the richness and flavour of strong beef-soup."
A peculiar quality of cassareep, which works as an antiseptic
Antiseptic
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...
, is that it allows food to be kept "on the back of the stove" for indefinite lengths of time, as long as additional cassareep is added every time meat is added. According to legend, Betty Mascoll of Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
had a pepperpot that was maintained like this for more than a century. Dutch planters in Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
reportedly had pepperpots in daily use that they kept cooking for many years, as did "businessmen's clubs" in the Caribbean.
Medical application
The antiseptic qualities of cassareep are well-known--so well-known, in fact, that the Reverend J.G. Wood, who published his Wanderings in South America in 1879, was criticized for not mentioning the "antiseptic properties of cassava juice (cassareep), which enables the Indian on a canoe voyage to take with him a supply of meat for several days."In the mid- to late nineteenth century, as reports of adventures by English explorers became widely read in England, statements about cassareep and its antiseptic qualities became easily available; an early example was a publication in The Pharmaceutical Journal
The Pharmaceutical Journal
The Pharmaceutical Journal is the official journal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and before that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain....
from 1847, and similar references can be found throughout the late nineteenth century, such as in the work of Irish naturalist and explorer Thomas Heazle Parke
Thomas Heazle Parke
Surgeon-General Thomas Heazle Parke was an Irish doctor, explorer, soldier and naturalist.Parke was born in 1857 at Clogher House in Kilmore, County Roscommon, Ireland, and was brought up in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim...
and in pharmaceutical and trade journals. Professor Attfield, professor of practical chemistry for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was formerly the statutory regulatory and professional body for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales...
, however, in the 1870 edition of the Year-book of Pharmacy, claimed that his laboratory studies proved no effectiveness whatsoever. Still, pharmaceutical journals and handbooks began to report of the possible use of cassareep, and suggested it might be helpful in the treatment of, for instance, eye afflictions such as corneal ulcer
Corneal ulcer
A corneal ulcer, or ulcerative keratitis, is an inflammatory condition of the cornea involving loss of its outer layer. It is very common in dogs and is sometimes seen in cats...
s and conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis refers to inflammation of the conjunctiva...
.