While flour is popularly made from wheat, many types of flour are made from different ingredients, creating unique kinds of flour, such as cassava flour.
If you have never tried cassava flour before, you may be curious as to what cassava flour is. I did some research, and here is what I learned!
What Is Cassava Flour?
Cassava flour is a kind of flour made from cassava, which is a starchy root vegetable similar to a potato. Typically, cassava flour is used as a gluten-free substitute for wheat flour in many recipes, but cassava flour may be used for flatbreads and as a thickening agent for soups and sauces.
Do you want to learn what other names cassava flour goes by, what cassava flour tastes like, and what you can substitute cassava flour for? Keep reading!
What Is Cassava Flour Made Of?
Cassava flour is made from a cassava root, which is a type of starchy root vegetable.
How Is Cassava Flour Made?
Typically, cassava flour is made by taking cassava roots and peeling then cleaning the cassava to prepare the cassava.
Next, the cassava root gets grated to create small pieces then the small cassava pieces get laid into a clean tea towel.
Now, the tea towel gets tied to keep the cassava root inside and the tea towel gets hung for five hours or longer to completely dry the grated cassava root.
Once the grated cassava pieces are mostly dry, the grated cassava gets spread out on a tray to let the cassava further dry for several days.
However, some manufacturers may use an oven or a dehydrator to dry the cassava quickly.
When the grated cassava pieces are completely dried, the grated cassava gets ground to a fine powder.
What Is Cassava Flour Used For?
Normally, cassava flour is used as a replacement for wheat flour in many recipes since cassava flour does not have gluten.
For instance, cassava flour can easily be used in recipes like pasta, muffins, bread, and more.
However, cassava flour may be specifically called for in certain recipes like farofa, which requires toasted cassava flour.
Additionally, cassava flour may be a great option for recipes like flatbreads since cassava flour does not have gluten.
Since cassava flour does not contain gluten, there will not be much volume in the recipes, making cassava flour ideal for flatbread.
Moreover, cassava flour can be used during cooking since cassava flour can work as a thickening agent for soups, sauces, and more.
Is Cassava Flour Potato Flour?
Technically, cassava flour is not potato flour because cassava is not the same as a potato.
While cassava and potatoes are both root vegetables and get used in similar ways, they are not the same since they have slightly different textures, flavors, and nutrients.
For instance, most potatoes have a slightly dense and creamy texture whereas cassava usually has a light and fluffy texture.
Additionally, potatoes often have a mildly sweet taste while cassava has a more neutral flavor profile.
What Is Another Name For Cassava Flour?
Some people may refer to cassava flour as yuca flour since cassava and yuca are different names for the same root plant.
Additionally, other people may call cassava flour “tapioca flour” since tapioca is starch taken from cassava roots.
What Does Cassava Flour Taste Like?
Generally, cassava flour has a very neutral flavor similar to white flour, but some people state that there are notes of nuttiness in cassava flour.
When cassava flour is cooked in a recipe, it is unlikely that you will taste the cassava flour’s nuttiness since the cassava flour will taste similar to white flour.
Does Cassava Flour Have Gluten?
Cassava flour does not have gluten because cassava flour is naturally gluten-free thanks to cassava being a root vegetable, not a wheat grain like all-purpose flour.
Is Cassava Flour The Same As Almond Flour?
Cassava flour and almond flour are not the same for various reasons, the most notable being that cassava flour and almond flour are made from different ingredients.
As you can guess by the names, cassava flour is made from cassava, which is a root vegetable, whereas almond flour is made from almonds.
Additionally, they have different flavor profiles because cassava flour is neutral and mildly nutty whereas almond flour has a strong nutty taste.
Moreover, some types of almond flour, particularly unblanched almond flour, tend to be very gritty but cassava flour is very powdery and soft.
However, you may achieve similar results in your baked goods if you use cassava flour and blanched almond flour since they are both gluten-free flours.
Are Cassava Flour And Tapioca Flour The Same?
Technically, cassava flour and tapioca flour are not the same even though tapioca is also made from the cassava plant.
Tapioca flour is extracted specifically from the cassava root’s starch while cassava flour is created from the whole cassava root.
Generally, tapioca flour is used as a thickening agent, which is why tapioca flour often gives thicker results than cassava flour.
What Flour Is Closest To Cassava Flour?
Normally, the most neutral-tasting, gluten-free, and non-wheat flour is very close to cassava flour.
However, some flour that is close to cassava flour includes arrowroot powder, coconut flour, chickpea flour, blanched almond flour, and more.
What Can I Use To Replace Cassava Flour?
If you want another gluten-free substitute for cassava flour, most types of non-grain flour will make a fine substitute for cassava flour.
Two of the most popular alternatives to cassava flour are arrowroot flour and almond flour, and you can usually use them in an equal ratio to cassava flour.
As for cooking, tapioca flour is an excellent thickening agent if you need to replace cassava flour.
However, you may want to use less tapioca flour as a thickening agent since tapioca flour creates much thicker results.
If you want to learn what coconut flour is, what chickpea flour is, and what chapati flour is, read our related articles.
Conclusion
Cassava flour is a great flour made from cassava, which is a root plant, and most people use cassava flour to replace wheat flour in many recipes.
Generally, cassava flour works great in most recipes because cassava flour is neutral-tasting and very soft.