Are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing ?

The answer is no, tapioca flour and cassava flour are not the same thing. Many people are curious about the question: are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing. Here I will tell you that they are actually not the same thing. Tapioca flour is also called cassava starch which is a starch extracted from cassava root through a process of washing, crushing, separating, concentration, refining, dewatering and drying. Alternatively, cassava flour is the whole root, simply cleaned, peeled, grinded, dewatered and dried.  Then I answer the question that are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing in detail.

Tapioca flour uses

1. Tapioca flour and cassava flour are different in manufacturing processes

Many people believe that tapioca flour and cassava flour are the same thing and they can be used interchangeably. As a matter of fact, they are in distinct differences. They are both extracted from cassava root, but the manufacturing processes of tapioca flour and cassava flour are quite different.

The complete tapioca flour manufacturing processes includes the cleaning process, washing process, cutting process, crushing process(to crush cassava into cassava slurry), separating process(to separate fiber from starch), desanding process (to separate sand from cassava slurry),concentration and refining process(to separate protein, cell sap and other impurities from cassava slurry and to achieve concentration, recycling and refining of cassava slurry), dewatering process (to reduce the water content of cassava milk) and drying process(to dry tapioca flour to meet standards).

Tapioca flour production process

While the manufacturing process of cassava flour is easier. It meanly contains cassava cleaning process, washing process, peeling process(to remove the outer peeler of cassava), crushing process(to crush cassava into cassava slurry), dewatering process(to press water out of cassava slurry), drying process(to dry cassava flour),sieving process (to sieve cassava flour to improve fineness of final products).

This is the first different for the question are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing. The different manufacturing processes of tapioca four and cassava flour determines the different features and usefulness of tapioca four and cassava flour. 

DOING Company machine manufacturing workshop

2.Tapioca flour and cassava flour are different in features

After the introduction of the manufacturing process difference, we have an basic impression that tapioca flour and cassava flour is different. To further distinguish them, we need to know their feature difference. Let me explain the question that are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing further by analyzing the feature difference.

Due to tapioca flour is processed by a series of complicated procedure. The toxic substances in cassava has been removed during processing. Therefore the tapioca flour can be eaten directly. While cassava flour is different. Due to the manufacturing process of cassava flour is relatively rough, it still retains the relative toxicity of cassava which lead to it can not be eaten raw. The hydrocyanic acid contained in cassava flour is harmful to health.

Cassava deep processing

3. Tapioca flour and cassava flour are different in usefulness

Though similar in appearance, tapioca flour and cassava flour are different in usefulness due to their different features. Tapioca flour presents as a delicate powder that does not form clumps when heated by water. And tapioca flour is often used as a condiment in daily life. When stir-frying or making soups, tapioca flour can serve as a way to collect juice. When frying food, tapioca flour can be wrapped in the outer layer of the food which makes the fried foods more crisp.

Unlike tapioca flour, cassava flour is generally powdery grain. When the cassava flour is boiled in hot water, it will appear transparent shape and taste chewy. Therefore cassava flour is widely used in food processing, such as sweet dumplings, pudding, or crystal dumplings.

After the above analysis, the answer of the question that are tapioca flour and cassava flour the same thing is obvious. They are different in manufacturing processes, product features and usefulness. Doing company is a complete set of cassava products processing machinery manufacturer, we can design and manufacture tapioca flour and cassava flour equipment. By consulting our engineer about the cassava processing equipment, you will have a better understanding to the difference between the tapioca flour and cassava flour.