Latest news with #yucca
The Guardian
03-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Houseplant clinic: has my yucca been overwatered?
What's the problem? My daughter has a yucca plant on her landing, and while the lower side looks fine, the taller side is struggling. She suspects her partner might have overwatered it. Any advice? Diagnosis Yuccas are drought-tolerant and sensitive to overwatering, and yellowing leaves, soft areas on the trunk or drooping stems are all indicators of this. Excess moisture often leads to stress or root rot. This may explain why the taller side, which perhaps has deeper roots so sits in wet soil longer, is suffering more noticeably. Prescription Lift the yucca from its pot to inspect the roots (you can do this by laying it on its side if that makes it easier). Healthy roots are firm and pale, while overwatered roots will appear mushy, brown or smelly. Trim away any affected roots using sterilised scissors. Repot your yucca in fresh, well-draining compost mixed with sand or perlite. Ideally, wait until the top few inches of soil feel completely dry before watering again. Prevention Ensure adequate drainage holes and water sparingly, especially during winter or in lower-light areas. Before watering, feel the soil with your finger. Got a plant dilemma? Email saturday@ with 'Houseplant clinic' in the subject line
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ancient flatbread makes a comeback in Cuba as crisis bites
STORY: Cubans are turning to a dish from the distant past as the country experiences a dire economic crisis. Historians say this simple flatbread, known locally as casabe, has been around for over a thousand years. The dish only requires one ingredient: locally grown yucca root, also known as cassava. In recent times casabe has mostly been relegated to field hands and outposts in the countryside. But with imports and production of such basics as wheat flour, sugar and salt vastly reduced, some are giving the dish another look. Yudisley Cruz is the co-founder of Yucasabi, a restaurant that seeks to promote the consumption of yucca-based products. The small restaurant in touristy old Havana sells a single disc for about four cents, making it nutritious, delicious and affordable for both tourists and locals alike, Cruz said. "In a food crisis like the one we are currently experiencing, we believe casabe can also help alleviate this situation. In addition to its tradition and cultural value, it is a food that goes well with everything, both savory and sweet dishes. These casabe cakes contain no fat or salt, are very easy to digest, gluten-free, and therefore suitable for people with gluten allergies, who now have another dish to choose from." Casabe can be served alone or topped with any combination of onion, tomato, pork and garlic. Cassava producer Julio Cesar Nunez says casabe's simplicity remains the flatbread's top selling point. He says that historically, Indigenous people made it on stone using intense heat, before griddles came along and made production easier.
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ancient Cuban flatbread makes comeback as economic crisis bites
HAVANA, May 6 (Reuters) - A bustling restaurant in old Havana offers diners a blast from the distant past - small circular flatbreads made from ground yucca served alone or topped with any combination of onion, tomato, pork and garlic. The dish, known locally as casabe, has been around for over a thousand years, historians said. More recently, it has mostly been relegated to field hands and Cuban country outposts. Now it may be making a comeback. Cuba's dire economic crisis has vastly reduced the import and production of such basics as wheat flour, sugar and salt. This has prompted some to give the simple flatbread another look. Its only ingredient is locally grown yucca root, also known as cassava. 'In a time of food crisis like the one we're currently experiencing, we believe cassava bread can help," said Yudisley Cruz, co-founder of Yucasabi, a small business and restaurant that promotes yucca-based products. Her small restaurant in touristy old Havana sells a single casabe for 15 pesos (4 cents), making it nutritious, delicious and affordable for both tourists and locals alike, she said. Cruz's restaurant - the only one in Cuba dedicated exclusively to yucca - is trying to popularize the flatbread in urban areas. But in the countryside, peddlers on foot, bike and moto-taxi sell casabe at even lower prices, a rare foodstuff nearly everyone can afford. Its near universal appeal, simplicity and cultural roots - it was first cooked on hot rocks by the indigenous Taino people in Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean - prompted the United Nations last year to add the food to its intangible cultural heritage of humanity list. Yucasabi, which features paintings of Tainos in Cuba's lush countryside on its walls, has given the ancient bread a modern spin, in hopes of attracting a new and larger clientele. "Casabe from Cuba, 100% artisanal, vegan, zero gluten," reads its advertising on social media. Simplicity, however, remains the flatbread's top selling point, says Julio Cesar Nunez, an 82-year-old traditional casabe producer who lives outside Havana. Nunez oversees the harvest, peeling, drying, grinding of the yucca root. That is formed into tortilla-like discs and cooked on sheet metal over flames. 'Anyone who takes the time to learn can do it," he said.
