Gari (also garri) is one of West Africa’s everyday staples: cassava root that is peeled, grated, fermented, pressed and then roasted in a wide pan into dry, crisp, slightly sour granules. It keeps well, and it’s eaten two main ways – stirred into hot water to make the stiff dough eba, eaten with soups and stews, or soaked in cold water with sugar, milk or groundnuts as a quick meal (gari “soakings”). White gari is roasted plain; yellow gari has palm oil stirred in during roasting.
What Gari Is, by Definition
The international Codex standard describes gari as cassava that is peeled, washed and grated, then fermented, pressed, broken up and granulated, dried if needed, sifted and heat-treated, with a moisture content of no more than 12% (Codex CXS 151). Every one of those steps does a job, and two of them are about safety.
Why the Process Matters: Cyanide
Raw cassava contains cyanogenic glycosides (mainly linamarin) that can release hydrogen cyanide. Grating breaks the root’s cells so the plant’s own enzyme, linamarase, reaches the linamarin; during fermentation and pressing the cyanide is released and drains or evaporates, and roasting drives off more. Making gari this way removes around 80–95% of the cyanide (Padmaja, 1995). The finished product has a limit of 2 mg/kg of free hydrogen cyanide, and cassava with more than 50 mg/kg (fresh weight) is classed as “bitter” (Codex CXS 193; FSANZ). Poorly processed bitter cassava eaten with little protein, typically during food shortages, is linked to konzo, a sudden and permanent paralysis of the legs (Nzwalo & Cliff, 2011).
There’s no reliable way to check cyanide by taste or smell at home, and you can’t tell sweet from bitter cassava by looking at it. So don’t shorten any step – and if you’re unsure, buy commercial gari, which is already fermented and roasted.
What Ferments It
In a study of gari fermentation in Benin, most lactic acid bacteria were Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc fallax and L. fermentum; L. plantarum acidified the mash fastest and often produced linamarase itself (Kostinek et al., 2005). The fermentation gives gari its sour taste; the pressing and roasting finish the job.
How to Eat It
- Eba: pour boiling water over gari and stir hard until it forms a smooth, firm dough; pinch off pieces to scoop up egusi, okra or vegetable soup.
- Soakings: cover gari with about two to three times its volume of cold water, let it swell, and add sugar, milk, groundnuts or coconut.
- Coating: as a crunchy, gluten-free crumb for fish or chicken.
For gari’s relatives – fufu, attiéké and other cassava ferments – see our guide to fermented cassava staples, West Africa’s fermented maize porridge ogi, and for a fermented-cassava drink, masato.