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Even more interesting than cassava is Maniçoba, a traditional dish of the Amazon made with cassava leaves, which are more toxic than the root and less nutritiou
by Carioca 4y ago
Even more interesting than cassava is Maniçoba, a traditional dish of the Amazon made with cassava leaves, which are more toxic than the root and less nutritious. The leaves are boiled for a full week before adding other ingredients and serving.
People from the region are absolutely loathe to skip any steps in the traditional preparations, even though it has been shown that the same result can be achieved with a few hours in a pressure cooker.
- ogma 4y ago
- nobodyandproud 4y agoWhy are they loathe? Is the margin for error in pressure cooking low? Is there the cost of making a mistake very high?
- Carioca 4y agoIt's very deeply embedded into their psyche as “this is the only way to do it, anything else will kill you.” And I'm not talking just about older or more rural people either, I know young hip professionals from Belém (pop 1.5m) who will not touch maniçoba made in anything different from the traditional way.
- beaconstudios 4y agoThat's probably a good way to avoid people poisoning themselves by "innovating" on a process that, though time-consuming, is very reliable.
- nobodyandproud 4y agoThat makes sense and I think the memory and message is optimal. The cultural memory of, “It’s death to take shortcuts” saves lives compared to a less complete message. Or one that is more complete, but is longer and harder to understand. Think of social media; or your average product manager. The whys and hows are best left to science; but science is a fragile institution with membership requirements. Whereas the culture will live on long after.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Carioca 4y agoForgot to mention, it's also a festive dish, eaten on special occasions. A typical person would eat it a handful of times in a year, so there isn't much incentive to streamline the process