Mandioca (_Jatropha Manihot L_.) is the principal farinaceous
production of Brazil, and is largely raised in nearly all parts of
South America; in fact, is the main bread food of that continent, and
is therefore worthy of consideration.
It is difficult for dwellers in northern climes to conceive of a
land which does not look largely to fields of wheat or corn for
sustentation; yet millions inhabit such a region, and strange to say,
derive their bread from a root which combines nutritious and poisonous
qualities.
Mandioca is indigenous to Brazil, and the Indians, strange to say,
discovered methods of separating its nutritive and detrimental
qualities. The Portuguese, learning its use from them, invented mills
for its preparation, and it became the bread food of a great tropical
region where wheat and Indian corn do not thrive.
The plant has a fibrous stalk, three or four feet high, with a few
branches and but little foliage; light-green five-fingered leaves. The
roots are brown tubers, often several inches thick, and more than a
foot in length.
It is planted from slices of the tubers and is of slow growth, taking
eighteen months to mature. The poisonous quality is confined to the
juice of the roots, and even this may be rendered innocent by boiling.
It then becomes vinegar by fermentation. The leaves may be eaten by
cattle. The roots must be ground soon after digging, as they become
putrid in a few days.
The Indians scraped the roots to a pulp with oyster shells, and after
pressing it, dried it before the fire, or cut it under water into thin
slices which they dried.
I will now describe the Portuguese method of making farina from
mandioca, as I witnessed it in my Brazilian home, a _fazenda_,
plantation, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mandioca, which loves a
dry soil, was grown on the hillsides among the orange and the coffee
trees. It was cultivated by the hoe. When its great masses of tubers
were mature they were dug and hauled to the farina house, a cool room,
tile-roofed, dirt-floored, and which contained mill, presses, and
drying-pans. Then the merry work began. The negroes, who love to work
in company, would sing, as, seated on benches or stools, they scraped
the brown skin from the tubers. These were washed and fed to the mill,
while the children took turns riding the mule which pulled the creaking
beam that turned the mill.
The tubers are very juicy and, on being ground, make a milky white
mass, which is put into soft baskets made of braided palm leaves.
These baskets are placed under a heavy screw press, and the milky
juice which flows from them is caught in tubs and set aside to settle.
In twenty-four hours in the bottom of the tub is a deposit of starch
several inches thick. This is the well-known tapioca of commerce,
extensively used for puddings and other delicate foods; good also
for starching clothes. The clear juice above it, a deadly poison, is
drawn off through underground tiles--that no chicken or other living
creature may taste it. The damp pulp in the baskets is transferred to
large concave trays of brass or copper placed over a slow fire, where
it is constantly stirred until entirely dry. It is now ready for use,
is as coarse as corn meal, but very white, and has a pleasant flavor,
resembling popcorn. It cannot be made into loaves, as much moisture
would make it too glutinous to bake. It is eaten dry or mixed with
beans or other vegetables at the table, or it is dampened and salted
and baked on a griddle in a hoe-cake half an inch thick. In this way
it is very nice and sweet. It is a favorite breakfast dish made into a
clear glutinous mush called _pirao_ (pronounced _pe-rong_). Brazilians
are very fond of the dry farina and throw it into the mouth by a
movement so dexterous that it does not powder the face.
This is the bread of Brazil. Though wheat bread is sold in the
bakeshops of the cities, it is not used to any great extent in the
rural regions.
There is another species of mandioca called _aipin_ (pronounced
_i-peen_), which cannot be converted into _farinha_. It matures in
eight months and has no poisonous qualities. It is a staple article for
the table, being baked like a potato, and its taste resembles that of a
roasted chestnut.