[permaculture-oceania] Arrowroot, tomatoes and tools

Fri Sep 1 11:18:41 EST 2006

 Jedd wrote:

 Queensland Arrowroot (Canna indica)     [1]
 .v.  Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea)     [2]

 Wikipedia suggests both are the source of arrowroot flour, however
 other sources indicate that the Cannas aren't useful for this purpose.
 What's the low-down?

********************************************
I thought that Queensland Arrowroot was not Canna indica but Canna edulis.

Has anyone made arrowroot flour from Queensland Arrowroot  and if so, how 
did you do it?

Also any recipes or great ideas for the use of Queensland Arrowroot ? I'd be 
particularly interested to hear any ideas for small-scale extraction of 
starch and turning starch into noodles.

**********************************************

Here's a bunch of material from a cursory websearch on Canna edulis.

About 4,500 years ago, people living along the Pacific coast of South 
America carefully buried their dead. Grave goods from the mundane (food) to 
the extraordinary (gold masks) honored the deceased. "Cooked tubers appear 
in the dry coastal tombs...indicating both an ancient origin and the fact 
that the roots were esteemed highly enough to be carried all the way from 
the highlands." (Lost Crops of the Incas, National Academy of Sciences, 
1989)

The cooked tubers were achira (Canna edulis Ker-Gawler), cousin of the 
familiar garden canna. From archaeological studies, achira was domesticated 
in the Andes and is thought one of the longest continually cultivated 
plants. By the time the Inca civilization was founded in 1100 CE, achira had 
been a food crop for at least 3,500 years.

Although beautiful plants, achira were grown for the high quality starch 
found in the large rhizomes. Tender rhizomes were cooked and eaten. The 
starch was extracted from older rhizomes for use as flour.

The starch granules in achira are the largest known averaging 40 by 120 
micrometers or three times the size of the potato's starch grains. 
Extraction of the starch requires only grating the rhizomes and immersing in 
water. The large granules settle quickly and can be dried or formed into gel 
sheets. Unlike corn or potato starch, achira starch thickens while remaining 
transparent and glossy.

Achira is better known in Australia and Southeast Asia where it is 
cultivated than in the Americas. Unfortunately, prejudice against the 
natives has relegated achira to "poverty" food, once the same classification 
as corn (maize) and potatoes.

**************************************************************

Edible canna (Canna edulis Ker-Gawler) is a starchy root crop that is grown 
sporadically in the tropical highlands for food security. Taxonomists now 
consider edible canna conspecific with ornamental or feral Canna indica. But 
edible canna's much larger rhizomes, inconspicuous flowers, and high starch 
content set it apart from C. indica. In its native Andean range, as well as 
in other parts of the developing world, the use of canna for direct 
consumption is about to disappear, mainly because of the long cooking time 
required to soften rhizome tissue (>3 h). In Vietnam and southern China, 
however, there has been a new appreciation of canna as a source for starch 
in the manufacture of transparent noodles, a luxury food widely eaten across 
Asia. In Vietnam alone, the canna area is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 ha.

Canna starch has the largest grains known and it settles quickly out of a 
suspension of grated tuber tissue. Starch recovery in rural factories is 
therefore high (>80% of total starch content). The starch is high in amylose 
and functionally similar to mungbean starch, the traditional raw material 
for transparent noodles. Canna starch is, however, less expensive to 
produce. Canna is an outstandingly versatile and robust crop. It is 
typically not fertilized and significant pests or diseases as well as 
replant problems are unknown.

*****************************************************************

      Processing Wooden drum graters where rhizomes are shredded and simple 
sedimentation tanks where the grated material is dumped into water are used 
to extract the starch. The starch has the largest known granules (30-100 
mm), resulting in fast settling. The fibrous pulp separated from the heavy 
starch by decanting.

      The overwhelming portion of canna starch production in Vietnam is 
processed into transparent starch noodles ("cellophane noodles"), a luxury 
food of south-east Asia and traditionally made of costly mungbean starch. 
Good cellophane noodles are about 1 mm thick; they display high tensile 
strength and good transparency. Dry matter loss during prolonged cooking is 
less than 10%.

      The canna noodles are manufactured by a process involving the 
steam-sheeting of a starch/water dough. The resulting gel sheets are 
stretched and semi-dried on bamboo frames. The gel sheets are then folded 
and cut into straight noodles. They are finally dried to a moisture content 
of about 18-21%.

      Characteristics Nutrition: Fresh tubers contain about 75-78% moisture 
and 12-16% starch. The dry matter contains 75-80% starch, 9 6-14% sugar 
(mostly glucose and sucrose), and 1-3% protein. The potassium content is 
high; calcium and phosphorus, low. The leaves and shoots are quite 
nutritious, containing 70% carbohydrate, 10-14% protein, 2.5-5.0% fat. 
20-25% fibre, and 12-17% ash.

      The granules can be seen with the naked eye and are three times the 
size of potato-starch granules, the current standard for starch-granule 
size. Because of its extraordinary proportions, the starch settles out of 
solution in a few minutes, freeing it from impurities in little time and 
with minimum expense. The starch is clear and, when cooked, is glossy and 
transparent, rather than opaque like that of potato, maizestarch, or common 
arrowroot. The cooked starch seems to be easily digestible, an important 
feature for infants, invalids, the elderly, and people with digestive 
problems.

      Canna noodles in Vietnam have excellent eating quality, much superior 
to extrusion noodles made experimentally from sweet potato and cassava 
starches which are widely available in southeast Asia. Special but as yet 
poorly understood functional properties of canna starch make it a substitute 
which has totally replaced expensive mung bean starch as the raw material 
for cellophane noodles in Vietnam. The high amylose content (25-30%) of 
canna starch as compared with other root starches has been proposed to 
explain the high peak viscosity observed during gelatinization, which 
permits the sheets to be easily handled. Canna starch also displays high gel 
retrogradation (recrystallization) and transparency which is critical to 
noodle quality.

      Uses Food: Although it is one the few root vegetables that can be 
eaten raw, it is usually eaten cooked like potatoes, arrowroot, cassava, or 
taro. More often it is baked, whereupon it becomes translucent, 
mucilaginous, and sweet. A traditional Andean feast is baked achira, roast 
guinea pig, yacon, and quinoa beer. In addition to the tubers, the young 
shoots and leaves can be eaten as a green vegetable. In southern Ecuador, 
its leaves are used to wrap foods for easy transport and for cooking. In 
Colombia (notably in the departments of Huila and Tolima), the flour of the 
tubers is used to make salted crackers. It is also mixed with cheese 
(colaciones). In Vietnam, the flour is used to prepare a pastalike food.

      It has historic importance but is little used today, mostly used as an 
emergency food. Direct consumption of the fibrous rhizome is limited by its 
poor eating quality and its long cooking time (2 to 5 hours). In Hawaii it 
was formerly used in making "haupia," a traditional dessert (made of coconut 
milk, starch, sugar, and gelatin) served particularly at luaus.

      Feed: Livestock eat both the crushed rhizomes and the foliage. Pigs 
relish the entire plant, readily munching the tops and rooting up the 
rhizomes. Near Sâo Paulo, Brazil, farmers grow the crop extensively as a pig 
feed. They prefer it for its hardiness, high yields, and capacity to remain 
in the field without decaying long after reaching maturity.

      Materials: Most of the plants are used to produce starch. The starch 
is sold for use in foods as well as in other products, such as sizing and 
laundry starch.

      Environmental: In Ecuador, the plant is commonly used as a living 
fence and as a windbreak to shelter other crops.

**************************************************************************

Corms can be eaten boiled or baked. The starch that can be washed out of the 
grated or pounded corms can be used to make cakes or as a thickener. Young 
shoots can be used as a vegetable and immature seeds are used in South 
America to make a type of Tortillas.

****************************************************************************

IV. AMYLUM CANNAE.-Canna, Canna starch. Probably the fecula of the root of 
Canna edulis, Ker (more), Nat. Ord. Marantaceae.

Canna starch, also known as "Tous les Mois," is obtained from a West Indian 
plant, supposed to be the Canna edulis of Ker, the tubers or roots of which 
are rasped, and then subjected to the ordinary methods of washing, 
straining, decantation of the supernatant fluid, and drying of the deposited 
starch. Canna starch is imported from St. Kilts, and is an excellent form of 
arrowroot. Canna starch looks more like potato-starch than any other 
amylaceous substance, has a satiny or glistening exterior, and its particles 
are large, varying in length from the 1/150 to the 1/400 of an inch. 
Examined by the compound microscope, they are oval or oblong, generally more 
or less ovate, have a very distinct nucleus or hilum, and fine, regular, 
uniform, concentric rings. The circular hilum is usually placed at the 
narrow extremity, and is very rarely double. The hilum and the body of the 
particle are frequently cracked. Tous les Mois contains about 16.74 per cent 
of hygroscopic water, is very soluble in boiling water, and yields a very 
tenacious jelly when boiled in this fluid. Canna starch forms a salutary and 
agreeable article of diet for invalids and children, and appears to be 
easily digested. It may be boiled the same as arrowroot, and used in the 
same cases. By many it is preferred to any other kind of arrowroot.

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photos of noodle prep in Vietnam 
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-507.html

also

http://www.cipotato.org/market/pgmrprts/pr97-98/50canna.pdf

which has detailed descriptions of noodle-making technology.

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A small proportion of canna starch is

destined for unspecific household uses or

processed into minor products such as

candies, cakes, and rice papers. Overwhelmingly,

however, canna starch is

processed into noodles.

***********************************************************************

      ARROWROOT (Canna edulis) PB5 60cm
      The vegetable comes from the swollen root of this plant. It can be 
steamed and eaten as a vegetable or used for thickening sauces and stews. An 
ideal form of starch for gluten allergy sufferers, the flour can replace 
wheat flour in recipes. Makes a good barrier plant and provides biomass for 
compost.

**************************************************************************

But the best part is eating arrowroot. To avoid the rather dry, flowery 
taste, slice them up and soak in water for four hours to remove the starch. 
They taste a little like water chestnut. Slowly roast them so they are soft 
and sweet, rather like parsnips.

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Rainforest Information Centre
Box 368 Lismore
NSW 2480
AUSTRALIA
61 2 66897519
johnseed1 at ozemail.com.au
www.rainforestinfo.org.au
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jedd" <jedd at progsoc.org>
To: "Permaculture List" <permaculture-oceania at lists.cat.org.au>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:21 PM
Subject: [permaculture-oceania] Arrowroot, tomatoes and tools

> Howdi,
>
> A few quickies.
>
> Queensland Arrowroot (Canna indica)     [1]
> .v.  Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea)     [2]
>
> Wikipedia suggests both are the source of arrowroot flour, however
> other sources indicate that the Cannas aren't useful for this purpose.
> What's the low-down?
>
> - - -
>
> Can other plants (especially eggplant, capsicum/chillis) be planted
> out as seedlings in the same way that tomatoes can - ie, buried maybe
> a foot deep with the top few leaves showing.
>
> Apart from drought resistance, do we know of any research into any
> changes to productivity or cropping period of plants so planted?
>
> - - -
>
> Related - has anyone designed a custom tool for digging a 30cm deep
> by say 8ish cm wide hole, without disturbing neighbouring plants?
> I've been tossing around some ideas involving galv pipe and hinged
> bits at the end .. but if this wheel has already been invented ... ?
>
> taa,
> Jedd.
>
> [1]   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canna_(plant)
> [2]   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowroot
>
>
> 