Cienfuegos company experiments with cooked ground cassava to make bread and sweets

The Workers Services Company of the Ministry of Construction (MICONS) inHundred fires works on experimental formulas to replace thewheat flour for cooked cassava turned “into a gel” with which they overcome the shortage of culinary raw materials.

“We have had to use ground cassava, which is what we are using, with prior cooking,converting it into a gel and to that gel we add 70% of wheat flour and 30% of that ground cassava converted into the gel.", indicated a company worker in statements to the Cuban Television Information System, who specified that they are working on the introduction of new recipes based on the aforementioned ingredients.

The employee of the MINCONS Workers Services Company pointed out that little by little they have been increasing the amount of “cassava gel” and reducing the other ingredients.

“Today we are working at 75 percent with ground cassava flour, made into a gel and incorporating cornstarch, which is what we have because we do not have wheat flour as such”, he added.

“We are measuring the cooking times, the resting times of the dough... We hope that this will give us results and once we have production of cassava flour as such...Let's make it with 100 percent cassava flour“added the worker, who was not identified.

Although in principle the food production of the aforementioned company is destined for MICONS Workers,They have some cafes that put their productions for sale to the general population.

In addition to the bakery-sweet shop, the companyhas maintained its sausage production, which, also in that case, has undergone “recipe adjustments” that have already passed through health registration. Among the changes is the incorporation of cornflour replacing the wheat flour extender in some sausages such as ham, chorizo and mortadella.

Before theshortage of raw materials, the depressed Cuban food industry increasingly resorts to alternatives and substitutions of all kinds to maintain food production.

In recent days it emerged that conditions are being prepared on the Isle of Youth to preparefoods like casabe, that do not depend on flour, and other products that replace that primary ingredient of bread.

Although the Ministry of Internal Trade (MINCIN) has denied the crisis,The flour deficit has kept the baking industry throughout the country in check for months.

In AugustHavana ran out of flour to make bread, except for that manufactured for the regulated quota and other prioritized sectors.

The crisis has led to the proliferation of all kinds of culinary “innovations,” including making eggless sweets in Las Tunas, and yucca croquettes.

Innovation spreads not only due to the shortage of wheat flour, since in recent days it was known thatdue to lack of milk the dairy products company of Santiago de Cubauses soy and rice flourin ice cream manufacturing.

However, in the midst of such a panorama last Monday the Cuban regimeinaugurated the XII Varadero Gourmet International Festival, a gastronomic fair aimed at promoting principles of healthy, sustainable cuisine and food sovereignty through conferences, exhibitions, business days and competitions, according to the official media.Cubadebate.

The opening of the event, which will last until September 15 at the Plaza América Convention Center in Varadero, was chaired by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and other authorities of the Communist Party and the government.