Cassareep

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 4 lbs bitter cassava
• 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar

Recipe

• 1 peel, wash and grate the cassava. place one cup of shredded cassava in a clean dish towel(cheese cloth or matapee) and twist, squeezing over a large saucepan to extract as much liquid as possible.
• 2 the amount of liquid in the cassava may vary according to the age and quality of the roots available.
• 3 warning: you do not want to use this liquid without cooking it as it is poisonous. cooking destroys the poison.
• 4 the remaining cassava meal can be reserved for making tapioca, cassava bread or cassava pone (papa leo's cassava pone).
• 5 combine the liquid in a saucepan with cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until liquid becomes a thick syrup. (just before like a molasses-like consistency).
• 6 store in a tightly sealed glass container. (keeps for up to 3 weeks).