Students from Colombia's Quindio department discovered an edible extract from bamboo, with which they created delicious and exotic new dessert recipes.
13 food technology students from the Quindio Regional Education Centre have spent the last two years researching ways to extract the edible syrup from bamboo, which they hope to commercialize, once they obtain the necessary records and have finalized their experimentation.
The initiative began after studies showed that with special heat treatment and analysis, it was possible to eliminate the toxic cyanide present in the bamboo and render it edible, reported newspaper El Tiempo Monday.
"The primary issue with the project involves the extraction of the natural cyanide, because there is a serious risk of poisoning, which is why experimentation cannot be conducted at home," explained the students's technology instructor Clarena Quintero.
The delicious syrup, once extracted, allegedly has a flavour similar to coconut and it takes approximately seven hours to produce 30 bottles.
According to John E Arias Garcia, one of the manufacturers, the extraction process involves chopping young bamboo shoots and mixing them with brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon until a thick, dark syrup is created.
Quintero assured that the bamboo extract could become an important addition to a healthy Colombian diet. "[The bamboo] contributes some 68% of our daily fibre requirements as well as 0.8% of our protein needs, this constitutes great dietary value," she stated.
According to the students, the product could be on sale in nine months time while standardization and finalization are still in progress.
The bamboo syrup will be officially unveiled at the first International Bamboo Congress between November 24 and 28, organized by the Autonomous Regional Corporation of Quindio.
