Here In Nigeria, we all love our garri.. either with the combination of creamy milk, sugar, and groundnuts or that same combination of milk sugar and nuts with cold water and suya or peepers fish or even peppered snails.
Garri is the creamy granular flour obtained with the aid of using the starchy tuberous roots of freshly harvested cassava. Garri can also be eaten in a solid form called Eba and is eaten very hot or even cold as a deliciously prepared meal with soup or stew stocked with a lot of meat, and sea food.
Cold Eba can also be used in the preparation of a very popular Ijebu meal called “ikokore”. The point I am trying to make is that we certainly do all love our garri over here in Nigeria, from the east to the west to the north to the south. Personally I do not consume a lot of Eba, I actually prefer semovita and foo foo which os also made from cassava.
When gari is properly taken care of it is certain that it will have a shelf life of six months or greater.
It is important to note that cassava is a cash crop which is very much demanded in Nigeria. Fermentation of the tubers breaks down the cyanide-containing compounds and additionally offers the gari its one-of-a-kind bitter flavour.
After fermentation, the gari is roasted to pressure off the cyanide fueloline and to prepare to dry out the product earlier enough and sufficiently for that matter before storage.
Preservation is finished with the aid of using the roasting procedure.
Below are steps to begin a Garri manufacturing enterprise in Nigeria:
Finding capital for your garri enterprise:
Most business starting interested men and women do not realise that capital is essential due to what it will be expended on especially since it involves the manufacturing process. To start up a business that produces garri you will need Capital depending on the scale of your business. If it is large scale you will require more capital. But if not you will require lesser capital.
Select an awesome vicinity to promote your Garri:
It is imperative that you Consider accessibility. Does your business rely on regular deliveries?Consider security, competition, business rates, availability of labor, and the area’s potential for growth when choosing a location.
Procure your raw materials:
either immediately from farmers or a depot in any way for inexpensive costs and to maximise profits. If you do that diligently, you may reap the rewards immensely, I promise.
Preparation of your raw material:
Fresh cassava is a moist, low-acid Tuber that is susceptible to bacterial and fungal growth.Hygienic procedures ought to be observed to save you and the consumers from infection and spoilage. All waste substances ought to be eliminated from the factory or production site to keep away from the spread of infection.
Fresh roots ought to be processed within days of harvest to save them from deterioration.Also, Tubers ought to be very well washed to take away sand and dirt.
Tubers are peeled with the aid of your hand. Woody portions from the cassava ought to be eliminated.
After peeling, the tubers are washed in very clean water to take away any remaining peel and dirt.
Grating:
washed tubers are grated with the use of both guide from an expert or cassava grater or rasper.
Fermentation:
Pack the grated cassava into baskets crafted from cane, bark, or palm branches. Leave it for 24-36 hours at room temperature.
It is essential to understand or know the fermentation length. If the length is simply too short, the cassava will no longer be absolutely properly made and could have a bland taste.
If the cassava is fermented for too long, the product may have a sturdy, bitter taste. Both over and below fermentation have an effect on the taste and feel of the garri.
De-watering:
Fill the fermented paste into empty bag of rice sacks. Place the sacks in a guide screw press or weigh them down with rocks. If the cassava is pressed with rocks, the fermentation may be accomplished at almost the same time, and that is if an excessive amount of liquid is eliminated from the grated cassava, The finished gari product could be whiter in color.
If too little water is pressed out, the formation of granules throughout roasting is affected, and the dough is much more likely to be shaped into lumps throughout roasting. The pressed cassava is sieved this is because Sieving is essential to achieve an excessively nice product that is loose from fibrous contaminants and has normally sized granules.
Roast in a massive shallow solid iron pan over a fire, with steady stirring for approximately 20-30 minutes. The granules have to be roasted at approximately 80 °C .If lower temperatures are used, the product dries out and produces a dry white powder. If the temperature is simply too high, the gari will keep on cooking at the lowest part of the pan and burn.
Cooling:
The roasted gari is cooled to room temperature.
Milling:
Sieve the gari to achieve granules of a uniform size. Larger debris that doesn’t fall out through the sieve can be milled to make flour.
Pack/Seal
Garri, without any difficulty absorbs moisture from the air and ought to be packed properly in water proof bags.
When well packaged and saved in a dry environment, gari will taste as good as new for up to six months.
Market your garri enterprise:
To market yourself and your enterprise, endeavor to identify the kind of audience that your garri business will sell to and feed off it.
Be customer-friendly:
Being customer-friendly is a must do for any business with products, offerings, and services that can be desired from the patron’s point of view. Many companies adopt the precept that what is ideal for the consumers is ideal for the corporation and are seeking to make choices from a buyers perspective. Being pleasant and well-mannered to all clients is an extremely good way to make them feel welcome immediately they stroll through the door… If you understand the clients needs properly, you may use something more inclusive such as their first name, in case you would happen to know it. It’s additionally essential to constantly be able to provide invaluable assistance to customers. Customer services involve having a mindset in which you care about your customers and regard them as the most important people in your company. Beyond the nice and cozy smiles and pleasant greetings, it is about making each buyers feel comfortable before and after purchasing as much as possible and by also being empathetic about them as human beings and not simply as clients regardless of whether they make a purchase or not.
Quality products:
Product quality is the making of a product combining all of the requirements and traits of a product that make up its potential to satisfy the patron’s wishes and requirements. It’s the potential of the product to fulfil what the customer desires and perceives as value. Your garri ought to be nice and those who enjoy and love it will patronize you.
