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2 Cassava Flour Production

The following two methods to produce unfermented top quality cassava flour have been elaborated and successfully tested, and are being promoted by IITA:

Method 1 (recommended only for cassava varieties with a low cyanide content)

Peel freshly harvested cassava.

Wash the roots thoroughly.

Cut into thin chips (about 5 mm thick), or use a chipping machine^*.

Spread thinly on a clean surface and allow to dry. A raised platform avoids contamination.

Mill finely.

Sift the flour if it is lumpy.

Method 2 (suitable for any cassava variety)

Peel freshly harvested cassava.

Wash the roots thoroughly.

Grate them as done for making gari.

Place the grated material into clean jute bags.

Remove water by pressing (cf. gari production).

Break the resulting cake into fine granules.

Spread the granules thinly on a clean surface and allow to dry. A raised platform avoids contamination.

Mill finely.

Sift the flour through a fine sieve (recommended mesh width: 0.25 millimetres).

Processing by the second method must be completed within one day. However, the drying of the chips using the chipping machine (first method) may take three to four days. To speed up drying, use improved driers (e.g. simple solar driers).

Cassava varieties with a high dry matter content produce the best flour and give the highest yield. The best quality and therefore price of the flour is related to quick and adequate drying and to small particle size.

Cassava flour should be stored in sealed polythene bags or in clean jute bags in a dry place. Jute bags may be used if the storage room is sufficiently dry. Under these conditions the flour has a long shelf life.

^*	Chips produced with the cassava chipping machine (see Root and Tuber Development Guide 1) are the ideal raw material for this type of flour. (To go back to the text, please click here!)