The everyday starch staple of the Central African Republic: cassava root (and sometimes maize) processed, dried, and cooked into a smooth, stiff swallow that is pinched into balls and used to scoop up stews like kanda, greens, and groundnut sauce.
Cassava swallows are the Central African parallel to the cornbread-and-pot-likker logic of the Black South: a cheap starch whose job is to carry the seasoned greens and beans. Gozo is the CAR's version of that staple.
Gozo's value is as a gluten-free energy staple — cassava is naturally free of gluten, making it safe for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, and when cooled it develops resistant starch that feeds gut bacteria. But cassava is nearly pure carbohydrate with little protein, so gozo works only as a vehicle for the protein-and-vegetable stew it carries: the swallow is the spoon, the sauce is the meal. Portion control matters because the glycemic load is high; pairing it with a bean, peanut, or greens stew slows the sugar release.
Cassava is peeled, soaked/fermented, dried, and pounded or milled into flour, then stirred into boiling water and worked vigorously into a smooth, stiff, lump-free mass. It is served in a mound and eaten by hand with stew.
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