70 



The World's Commercial Products 



resulting pressure is sufficient to squeeze out the poisonous juice through the sides of the bag. 

 In other parts of the country a heavy lever is placed through a loop at the end of the matapie 

 and one end fixed to the floor, while upon the other end the woman seats herself so that her 

 weight exerts a powerful leverage on the bag, which is drawn taut, causing the juice to be 

 expressed as before. The cassava, freed from the liquor, contains but little poison, and this is 

 entirely dissipated in the subsequent process of cooking. The meal is taken from the matapie, 

 broken over a sieve, and then sifted until it is converted into a coarse flour. The latter is then 

 either packed in leaves for future use, or at once made into bread or into the thin circular 

 " cassava cakes " which are well known wherever cassava is cultivated. 



The poisonous juice expressed from the cassava pulp is not wasted; for it is the source of 

 " cassareep," which is well known as an essential ingredient of the West Indian dish, 



" pepper-pot." Cassareep is pre- 

 pared by boiling the juice until it 

 becomes of a thick, treacle-like con- 

 sistency, when it is no longer 

 poisonous. It is largely used in this 

 country as a basis for sauces. 



The popular starchy foodstuff 

 "tapioca " is prepared from cassava, 

 and is largely imported into Eng- 

 land from Brazil and the Straits 

 Settlements. Its method of pre- 

 paration is comparatively simple, 

 but in the countries mentioned, 

 where the product is a valuable 

 article of export, the cassava is 

 prepared on more practical lines 

 than that described above. The 

 roots are ready for digging in about 

 from six to twelve months, when 

 they are grated on a machine. There 

 are two methods of preparing the 

 starch : in the " wet " method the 

 grated root is placed in water for 

 a few days, when it is kneaded 

 with water, and finally pressed to 

 extract the juice. The resulting 

 fecula is sifted and baked in earthen 

 ovens. In the " dry " process the 

 grated roots are mixed with water 

 without any previous soaking and 

 subjected to pressure. After dry- 

 ing and sifting, the fecula is washed 

 several times and finally dried in 

 the sun. The cassava is now ready 

 to be made into tapioca, and the 

 process consists merely in heating 

 the starch on flat iron plates, when 

 it becomes partially cooked, and 

 the soursop agglomerates into the hard, small, 



(The unripe fruits yield starch ) irregular lumps which are so f amiliar. 



