WEST AFRICA CASSAVA PLANT PROCESSING INTO GARRI

INTRODUCTION

Africa is blessed with a lot of natural resources ranging from oil, water, vegetation and human resources. Africans across the globe has contributed their quarter to development of human kind. Therefore, it is worth knowing about the richly Africa continent.

On this article, I am going to expose the whole process of making Cassava flour popularly known as Garri.

Cassava plant

Garri is a Niger Delta, Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria food. Though, other countries in West Africa also produces it, I am specifically going to talk on how it is processed in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.

CASSAVA

Cassava also know with it biological name as Manihot Esculenta is a woody shrub plant cultivated an annual crop in the tropical and subtropical regions across the world. Though, it can be harvested within period of six months after planting.
(To learn more about the history check here: Cassava )

PLANTING

(To be updated)

HARVESTING

(To be updated soon)

PROCESSING TO GARRI

PILLING

The crop that produces the tuber is called cassava and the tuber is also called Cassava  tuber. After it is harvested, the brownish cover is pilled away and it is left with a whitish inner body. Some regions do not pill the outer brownish cover and this makes the end product a dark powered.

Pilling of cassava tuber

There are two outer covers before the inner whitish tuber. The outermost cover is like the rough skin of the tuber while the intermediate cover protects the whitish inner tuber. These covers has their importances to the growth of the plant. But on this article, we are focusing on it processing. 

WASHING

 Washing the pilled cassava gives a whitish tuber. 

Washing pilled Cassava tuber

This is done in order to remove any form of dirt that is incur on the surface of the whitish pilled tuber during the process of pilling. It is necessary to wash before grounding to give a perfect fried end product without particles of dirts. Note that washing is done in water and no other liquid. 

GROUNDING

After the pilled cassava has been washed with water, then it is taken to be grounded into paste of smaller particles. The machine used in the grounding is of different types. Some of these machine are locally made like the one shown in this article. (The article is not on the process of making the Cassava grounding machine locally.

Grounding of Cassava tuber

Washed Cassava tubers
ready to be grounded

Absolute care should be taken when ground with the local made grounding machines else you lose your fingers with the grinder of the machine. 

When grounding is finally done,  the grounded Cassava is then collected as shown below and further processing are carried out. 

Ground Cassava paste

The Cassava paste can be processed into other end products apart from Garri. It can be processed into Tapioca and Fermented Cassava flour also called "Fufu".

VARIETIES OF GARRI

The end product Garri can either be whitish after it is being fried or left yellowish colour. To have a whitish Garri powder, the grounded Cassava paste is fried as removed from the Grounding machine. Nevertheless, to have a yellowish powder, it is mixed with palm oil as shown in the photo below.

Palm oil to be added to ground Cassava paste to have a yellowish Garri powder instead of whitish powder

Palm Oil are gotten from Palm tree. (Article will be published on it production soon).

Mixing Cassava paste with Palm oil to have a yellowish Garri powder

Mixing should be done thoroughly to have a uniform yellow Garri powder.

PACKAGING TO REMOVE WATER FROM THE GROUNDED PASTE

After the paste is mixed with palm oil or left without mixing, it is then packaged into nylon sacks in order to be pressed on a pressing machine as shown.

Packing Mixed or Unmixed 
Cassava paste into a nylon sack

Ready to be placed in the pressing 
machine to remove water

Manual pressing machine ready for work

Manual Pressing machine ready for pressing.

Making the Sacks of Cassava paste flatten 
to be place on the Pressing Machine

Placing the Sacks inside 
the Pressing Machine

Finally Pressing to remove 
water from the paste

SIEVING

When the starchy water has been drained from the Garri paste, it is gradually having a powder form (like moist power). It is then sieved to remove any large particle that might not be thoroughly grounded by the Grounding machine. 

Filtering of moist Garri paste with a local made Siever

Once the Garri has been filtered, a more smooth whitish or yellowish Garri is obtain.

Filtered Garri

FRYING OF GARRI

After the moist garri has been filtered as shown above, the oven is set up as show below.

Setting up the local oven. 

Garri Frying pan

Note that there are different forms of frying pans. They range from round shape frying pans, square and rectangular as shown above.

Setting up the oven with fire

Oven set

When the Oven is set, the moist Garri powder is then packed in it for frying as shown below.

Frying the Garri with a constructed Spatula

Using a constructed Spatula, the moist Garri powder is intermittently turn until dried without water. Do not forget to turn it for a long period else it get burnt.

Removing Dried Garri from Frying pan

Garri

(This Article is under updating )
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