Behind the Scenes: Farinha de Mandioca

Before coming to Brazil, the only experience I had in South America was my summer spent in Paraguay during 2008. One of the staple foods is the tuber locally known as "mandioca" (manioc, cassava, or yucca, in English). The indigenous influence is obvious in the language choice, as the majority of Spanish-speaking Latin America calls the root "yucca" (as do some parts of the southern U.S), but in Guaraní, the word means "to kill", so "mandioca" is preferred. This caused some confusion for me when I arrived in Brazil and saw manioc flour being sold in stores, but never making it onto the menu. When I asked why, the response was that it is quite popular, and used in a variety of dishes such as "macaxeira frita" (manioc cut into thick wedges, deep fried and served like steak fries, yum!), but "macaxeira" is a different variety of manioc. In Brazil, "manioca" refers to a variety of manioc which, if consumed as is, is toxic to humans. As a result, manioca is processed and made into flour or starch, and macaxeira is prepared in dishes such as the popular tapioca, a mandioca flour pancake with a variety of sweet and savory fillings (though my personal favorite dish is arrumadinho, a combination plate of fried manioc and carne do sol, a dried beef shredded and served with a local white cheese, queijo coalho).

One weekend I was invited to a casa de farinha (flour mill) to see the process which has been preserved for decades. The casas de farinha are highly concentrated in the village of Feira Nova, in the interior of Pernambuco. During my visit, I was told that most of the surrounding rural towns of Recife specialize in agrarian production; Feira Nova's specialty being manioc flour, other towns were known for pineapple farms, and the major crop is sugar cane, which can be seen for miles in the hillsides.(Feira Nova)

The process is quite labor intensive, and is done nearly entirely by hand. In brief, it goes as follows;

1. Manioc is sorted into two varieties; manioca and macaxeira (differentiated by the color of the outer skin)(Peeling mandioca)
2. The manioca is peeled and thrown into a grinder
3. The pulp is collected in two large barrels and drained of the toxic juice
4. The drained pulp is then put through another grinder to refine it
5. The refined pulp is placed into large cylinders which rotate over a woodburning fire to dry the flour
   
6. Dried flour is fed through yet another grinder as a final process
7. Grab a handful of warm flour and enjoy!

Farinha de manioca is used in a variety of ways; the base of cakes, a thickening agent, and, the most Brazilian of all - Farofa. Farofa is a lunchtime staple; it is heaped onto rice, beans, and gives a crispy crunch to churrasco kebabs. Here's a basic recipe, for those of you who feel your plate is in need of some Brazilian flavor!

Farofa (for four)

Ingredients

• Butter (amount to taste)
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 Diced sausage link (linguiça, or any basic pork variety works well)
• Manioc flour

Process

• In a medium saucepan, heat butter to sautée the onion (for this amount, I use around 4 large tbsps. of butter)
• When the onion is softening, add sausage
• Add manioc flour (for 4, between 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups works well) and stir, adding butter to taste
• When the flour is toasted to a golden color, the farofa is ready
• Add to rice and black beans or use as a coating for kebabs at your next barbeque for a great flavor!