Drink Garri on Valentines Day
Garri is a staple cuisine in Nigeria that is consumed by people of all tribes. It is created from processed cassava tubers. It is most commonly consumed as cereal or prepared as eba.
What is Garri?
Garri is made in powder form with fine granules, hence it does not qualify as grain. It is not grainy, despite the fact that it feels like it. You can soak it as regular cereal and serve with groundnuts (peanuts), cashew nuts, fried fish, coconut, and so on. It can also be converted into eba, a “swallow food” with various soups.
Cassava tubers are used to make garri, which contains cyanide. There are two types of cassava tubers. There are two types of cassava: sweet and bitter.
Cassava contains cyanide, which is toxic if consumed in excess, thus it must go through several phases of processing to eliminate the volatile cyanide before it can be converted into garri.
Although the sweet cassava roots can be consumed safely after peeling and carefully heating since they contain less than 50mg/kg of hydrogen cyanide, the bitter cassava must be treated more extensively due to the high cyanide level (up to 400 mg per kilogram).
The process begins with cassava harvesting and continues through peeling, washing, grating, fermenting, pressing, sifting, and frying.
How is Garri Made?
- Harvesting and Sorting: After harvesting cassava, sorting is required to separate the good cassava tubers from the bad ones.
- Peeling the Cassava Roots: Use a knife to remove the peel. This approach is commonly used by small to medium-sized garri manufacturers. This approach can be time-consuming, which is why some large factories use machines for this task.
- Wash and clean the cassava root:Â After peeling, the cassava is thoroughly rinsed to remove any dirt.
- Grating and fermentation: The cassava is grated and placed in a sack for fermentation. This will help to lower hydrocyanic acid levels. Fermentation usually takes longer than a day.
- Press and sift: The fermented cassava in the sack is then pressed with a heavy weight to drain any surplus water. The weight leads the grated cassava to form a lump. The bulk has now been split up and sifted to make it finer.
- Cook: The food is prepared by frying or roasting.
- Cool and store: To prevent mould growth, store garri in an airtight container at room temperature with low humidity.
Benefits of Drinking Garri
Garri, sometimes known as cassava flakes, is a major source of carbohydrates and a popular staple meal in Nigeria. It is a Nigerian delicacy that is typically blended with sugar, milk, and other ingredients and eaten as desired.
However, people are unaware of or ignore the health benefits of their go-to lunch. So, have you ever wondered why drinking Garri is healthy? Here are a few items:
Weight loss.
If you’re attempting to lose weight, try garri. Although garri is a starchy food, it is low in calories and high in fibre, which will keep you full for longer. As a result, the desire to overeat is reduced.
Facilitates digestion.
Garri helps to absorb poisons that enter your intestines. This, in turn, can benefit your digestive health. Garri can be soaked in water with milk to provide a mixed effect. That instance, the vitamins in milk combined with those in garri makes for an excellent combo.
AIDS Diarrhea Cure
Garri also works to treat diarrhea. So, if you have a dinner gone wrong, combine it with water and drink twice a day for a flawless solution.
Energy booster
Garri soaked in water provides a specific level of energy, which promotes a healthy lifestyle. When soaked in cold water, it lowers body temperature, especially in hot weather.
READ ALSO: 5 Best Romantic Chocolate Brands for Valentine;s Day
Conclusion
When it comes to matters of personal preference and decision, there is no such thing as right or wrong. This includes that which beverage you decide to consume on Val day. Cassava is the plant that is used to make the renowned West African dish known as garri, which is frequently consumed as a staple food. In the event that you take pleasure in drinking Garri and it provides you delight on Val day, there is nothing essentially incorrect with that. The festivities of Val all over the world are very different from one another, and people have a vast variety of traditions and customs. At the end of the day, the decision of what to consume on Val day is a personal one, and it is essential to do what brings you joy and is in accordance with your cultural or personal tastes.
