Science behind Paiwari Making by Indians

I wanted a place to store this great little article on Paiwari making and the science behind it. My appologies to the author for copying it without permission, but it is an obscure article and hard to locate. (The author may write me if he wants it removed.)/drf 

 

The Science Behind Paiwari Making by Indians

From Earliest Recorded Use of Biotechnology Procedures in Guyana by Seelochan Beharry PhD. http://www.pantribalconfederacy.com/ and specifically, http://www.pantribalconfederacy.com/confederacy/News/pdf/Earliest_Recorded_Biotechnology.pdf

The late Sir Everard F. im Thurn (MA. Oxon, b1852 - d1932) published (1883) a work entitled: “Among the Indians of Guiana: Being Sketches Chiefly Anthropologic from the Interior of British Guiana.” I have in my possession a copy of the Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1967 (Library of congress #66-30384). This Dover edition first published in 1967 is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the work originally published by Kegan, Paul, and Trenton Co, 1883.

There are detailed descriptions of how Cassava bread is made, with variations under different conditions when the cassava is scarce. However, we want to focus on the earliest recorded incidence of ‘Biotechnology’ procedures in British Guiana. (This is from my contemporary readings of our national historical documentation – I am of course subject to correction by evidence to the contrary by the experts in this field.)

On Page 263 of the abovementioned work (over a century ago), we read: “Much cassava, after being made into bread, is further transformed into paiwari, the chief Indian beverage. Astounding quantities of this are consumed at special drinking bouts, of which we shall hear more presently. But paiwari is also largely used at other times; and indeed as long as there is any cassava to be had, a stock of this liquor is always kept ready. Whenever the men return from hunting, and whenever a stranger comes into the house, it is drunk. And women and children – even the youngest babies – drink it.”

“Cassava bread which is to be transformed into paiwari, is made as that for other purposes; but it is thicker, and is baked, or rather burned, until it is quite black. It is then broken into smaller fragments, and is mixed with water in a large jar or pot. The larger fragments are picked out and chewed by the women, who do this while moving about and performing their usual household work; and the masses are again replaced in the jar. As soon as this jar is sufficiently filled, its contents, after being well stirred, are slightly boiled, and are then poured into the trough. More and more is added to the liquor in the trough. More and more is added to the liquor in the trough until it is full.”

“The mixture is then allowed to stand for some days, until it is sufficiently fermented – a process which is said to be much accelerated by the mastication of the bread. Sometimes a little juice of sugarcane is added to sweeten the liquor. The result is a brownish liquor –looking like coffee with a great deal of milk in it - with a sub-acid, but not unpleasant taste. Some of the True Caribs, it is said, and some of the Brazilian tribes, manage to prepare paiwari, and to procure a proper degree of fermentation, by simply boiling, without resorting to the very disagreeable but more orthodox chewing process; but paiwari produced in this way is said to be of very inferior flavour.”

“In some parts of the country, instead of paiwari, both for festivals and for ordinary occasions, a much pleasanter drink is used. This is casiri, which is made of sweetpotatoes and sugar-cane. A little cassava is sometimes added. Generally, though not always, it is prepared simply by boiling the ingredients, and allowing them to ferment. It has a pretty pink colour, due to the sweet potatoes; and when well made it tastes not unlike thin claret. ……”

For those who love to eat and have done some science, we would remember that digestion of food begins in the mouth – i.e. chewing breaks down the size of the food particles to smaller and smaller-sized ones. This chewing is necessary so that we can have the maximum surface area of the food exposed to the saliva – produced by the salivary glands in the mouth. This chewing therefore also maximises the efficiency of the catalytic process that occurs in the presence of saliva. The saliva produced in the mouth contains an enzyme called human salivary amylase also called ptyalin (among other chemicals) which is mainly called alpha amylase that breaks down a complex carbohydrate such as starch (polymer of glucose) into simple sugars (monosaccharide, disaccharide or trisaccharide e.g. such as glucose, maltose, maltotriose, respectively, and “limited dextrin”). The alpha amylase enzyme is present in very small amounts in the saliva. Usually, in any biological enzymatic process only a small amount of the catalyst is needed. The alpha amylase enzyme (like other enzymes) here works best at a particular pH (i.e. a measure of acidity or alkalinity) range (in this case slightly alkaline, 7.4). (Incidentally, the saliva also contains another enzyme called lysozyme that lyses (breaks down) bacteria, in addition to other anti-bacterial compounds.)

This saliva helps to sterilise any bacteria that would remain on any improperly washed or handled cassava. Hence the saliva destroys any bacteria present as well as breaking down starch to form glucose, maltose, maltotriose and “limited dextrin”- done by alpha amylase and lysozyme, respectively.

The stirring mentioned above also allows for maximum exposure to the enzymatic processes – thereby maximising the efficiency of the catalytic breakdown of starch into maltose. The heating to a slight boiling denatures (kills) the enzymes - thereby stopping the catalytic action of the enzyme (alpha amylase). This phase of the production process is over. The heating to a boiling also acts as sterilization step – since heat kills bacteria, viruses, and other living micro-organisms that may also be present.

The sterilised maltose is now ready for the next step - fermentation of simple sugar i.e. maltose into alcohol. (Incidentally, from cane sugar we extract the sucrose (a disaccharide) which is then fermented to give alcohol.). Unfortunately, I found no detailed record of how the fermentation process was/is initiated, controlled, and stopped. Maybe those with this knowledge or experience can kindly let us know.

We see from the above that the old making of paiwari is indeed complex science - and the participants involved intuitively must have some understanding of the biological chemistry or biochemistry involved. Today such a complex process would be in the realm of applied science i.e. biotechnology, since it involved the use of biological materials in a complex production process.

Next time, we see Amerindians I hope that we have more respect for their immense knowledge. If we look carefully without prejudice, we can learn a lot from them. They do have a lot to teach us – we just have to be open-minded.

I taught biochemistry at UG, regrettably I was not aware at time that there was a good local example of the application of early biotechnology in Guyana. I never learnt about this until I was doing some research about the ‘Rupununi Uprising.’ Who knows what other gems are there to be discovered and record before they are lost.

These liqueurs (paiwari and casiri) can probably be produced for commercial exploitation using alpha-amylase. Besides the use sweet potatoes in casiri, fruits such as ‘jamoon,’ goose-berry, tamarind, and/or other local fruits can be used to make flavoured liqueurs. This would provide an additional market for cassava–based products. This would be a good enterprise for DDL or some adventurous group of young entrepreneurs.

Hope that next time we can all celebrate Amerindian Heritage month with a new found respect for their contribution and knowledge – in addition to their knowledge in forestry, botany, zoology, and their environmental awareness.

Seelochan Beharry PhD.

also another article

Economic Botany

Volume 36, Number 1

Traditional cassava-based foods: Survey of processing techniques

P. A. Lancaster, J. S. Ingram, M. Y. Lim and D. G. Coursey

The Food Made from Poison

The Food Made From Poison

By A. Hyatt Verrill

From Everyland magazine, March 1917. Digitized by Doug Frizzle February 2012.

THAT sounds funny, does it not? Yet, nearly every reader of Everyland has eaten this food, for it is tapioca. It is no exaggeration to say that tapioca is made from poison, for it is prepared from the manioc plant which, in its raw state, is a deadly poison.

The manioc plant grows in tropical America and although so poisonous, yet it is one of the most useful of plants, for it furnishes a meal known as cassava, a superior quality of starch, tapioca, and a preservative for meats and other foods. The process by which the poisonous root is transformed to a nutritive food is very interesting. It was known to the Indians for centuries before white men first landed on the shores of the New World.

How the Indians discovered that the poisonous roots could be made into food is a mystery. Probably it was by accident. Certainly it could not have been by experiment, for the person who experimented would have been pretty sure to have died before he carried his investigations very far.

The manioc plant is a tall bush with hand-shaped leaves and a thick, fleshy root, and in the form of cassava it is the principal food of the South American Indians and of many white people and thousands of black people besides. Moreover, it is so valuable that it has been introduced to tropical countries all over the world, and is cultivated very largely in Africa and other places.

When an Indian wants to plant a cassava field, he merely selects a piece of land in the forest, chops down the big trees, and sets fire to the branches. This burns away the weeds and brush, and leaves the big stumps and fallen trees blackened and half-burned and still scattered about in confusion. But this doesn't trouble the Indian. Without bothering to clear away the litter, he digs holes here and there among the stumps and tree trunks and plants the slips of the manioc plants. Of course, such a place doesn't look like a farm or a field as we know such places, but it serves the Indian's purposes, for the manioc thrives with very little care, and after the soil is exhausted or when the weeds and brush spring up again, the Indian moves to a new spot and clears another "field."

The men clear the forest and plant the manioc, but the women do all the rest of the work and gather and prepare the roots. It may seem at first as if this were unfair, but in reality the task of clearing the forest is tremendous, for several hundred giant trees must be felled by hand, and I think when the man has finished his work he has really done his share.

But to return to the preparation of the poisonous roots. When a woman wants bread, she goes to the cassava field, and, searching about until she finds some manioc plants whose leaves are dry and yellow, she digs up the roots. These she packs in an open-work basket, places the basket on her back, supported by a band of bark around her forehead, and thus carries the heavy load to her home, or benab.

The roots are washed and pared and are then grated on a slab of wood into which tiny, sharp bits of stone are fastened by means of gum and wax. Often, nowadays, a piece of tin, punched full of holes like a giant nutmeg grater, is used, but the Indians prefer the wooden and stone graters when they can be obtained. However, as these are made only by one or two tribes and are very valuable, few Indians can afford them.

After the roots have been grated, the wet, pasty mass is packed into a queer wicker-work tube known as a metapee. The metapee is very cleverly made, so that when the two ends are pressed together its diameter is greatly increased, while, if the ends are pulled apart, the metapee becomes very slender.

While the grated manioc roots are being placed within it, the metapee is pressed down until it is short and stout. Then, when it is packed full, one end is hooked over a peg on a beam and a stout stick is thrust through a loop at the other end. Then a jug or a calabash is placed underneath it and one or two Indian women seat themselves upon the pole. Their weight pulls the metapee out and, as it contracts, the pressure squeezes the juice from the grated manioc.

The juice runs down into the jug and is saved, for, although the juice is the poisonous part of the roots, it is very useful, as you will see.

After all the juice has been squeezed from the roots, the metapee is taken down and, when the two ends are pressed together, the manioc is easily removed. When taken from the metapee, the cassava, as it is called, is in the form of hard, white cylinders. These are placed in mortars and are broken up with a wooden pestle, or are pounded with a club, and the coarse meal is then sifted through a square basket-work sieve.

The cassava meal is then mixed with a little water and is spread, in large, thin cakes upon a piece of iron or a flat stone over a fire, to bake. As soon as it is thoroughly cooked or dried, it is ready to eat, for the poison of the manioc is prussic acid and any which might remain in the meal after the manioc has been squeezed in the metapee, is driven off by the heat of baking.

The cassava cakes, or "cassava bread", are finally dried in the sun and are packed away in great piles for future use. They are eaten like bread, or are dipped in gravy, sauce, or honey, or they may be pounded up and used as flour, either raw or boiled, like rice. But the favorite way of eating it is with pepper-pot.

To make the pepper-pot, the Indians use the poisonous juice which has been squeezed from the meal in the metapee. This juice is deadly poison, but by being boiled until it becomes a thick, dark syrup, the poison is driven off. This is known as cassareep and is a wonderful preservative. Into the jug of cassareep are thrown red peppers, vegetables, meat, fish, and any other odds and ends of food. By boiling the mixture from time to time, the pepper-pot keeps forever, and every Indian house always has a big jar of pepper-pot standing ready for use.

It is a very pleasant-tasting dish when well made, although rather hot. But if you eat pepper-pot with the Indians, you must be prepared to find surprising things in it, such as monkeys' hands and birds' heads and feet, or even the scaly tails of Iguana lizards or big grubs and caterpillars, for the Indians never waste anything that can be eaten.

It is from the cassava meal that tapioca is made. The meal is boiled in water until it has dissolved, and then sprinkled upon a heated surface which hardens the jelly-like substance into the little, rounded, semi-transparent lumps that you see in your tapioca pudding. The next time you eat that kind of pudding, remember that it is made from poison. You won't be afraid of it on that account, for you will also remember how the Indians have squeezed out the poisonous juice and baked the meal to make it safe for you to eat.