Manioc

[clarkee142]

Having returned from Africa where Manioc is one of the staple foods, I noticed when eating it that it has a definite sweetness to it.
Has anyone heard if there is an amylase in this as it is eaten cooked and maybe a starch to sugar conversion?
I brought back a couple of KGs to try it in my next mash anyway (was very worried bring back two 1Kg bags of white powder through customs....was I sweating?)
Incidently Manioc is a root crop that is harvested, grated and then dried before being cooked in water and is served with the consistancy of hardened silicone!

Cheers.
Greg

[Dnderhead]

The sweet manioc beer (nihamanci or nijiamanchi), is prepared by first peeling and washing the tubers in the stream near the garden. Then the water and manioc are brought to the house, where the tubers are cut up and put in a pot to boil. … The manioc is then mashed and stirred to a soft consistency with the aid of a special wooden paddle. While the woman stirs the mash, she chews handfuls of and spits them back into the pot, a process that may take half an hour or longer

[clarkee142]

To obtain alcohol they must convert the starch to sugar and then ferment the sugar. So the amylase could be coming from the manioc or the saliva (which contains amylase too)

Nazdrave (cheers in Bulgaria)