AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It is official. A world-famous bread is finally getting its flower (ph).
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
(Laughter) I see what you did there.
CHANG: (Laughter).
SUMMERS: Cassava bread, a staple in many Latin American countries, has been recognized by UNESCO as part of humanity's cultural heritage.
CHANG: Every year, the organization adds to a rolling list of practices that it sees as vital to humanity. Past entries include yoga, the Italian opera and Peru's preparation of ceviche.
SUMMERS: And if you've never had cassava bread, picture a very thin, hard and crispy flatbread. It's made from a bitter type of yuca.
GEO RIPLEY: (Through interpreter) There's a famous saying here in the Dominican Republic - in lieu of bread, cassava bread.
CHANG: That is Geo Ripley, a Dominican artist and retired professor who worked to get this UNESCO recognition. He says there are multiple ways to eat the staple bread.
RIPLEY: (Through interpreter) You can eat it with a little bit of olive oil and salt, and it will be delicious. You can add garlic. If you are eating soup, you can add it. You can use it as a compliment, like bread.
SUMMERS: And now I am hungry. Making this bread is a laborious process, and UNESCO is celebrating its practice, which dates back thousands of years, to Latin America's Indigenous communities. Now it's found across several countries and Caribbean islands and as far as Nigeria.
CHANG: Ripley thinks the denomination could help increase its export and consumption.
RIPLEY: (Through interpreter) Dominican chefs are going to use this designation to make more dishes with cassava bread for their clients as a culinary delight.
SUMMERS: The countries included in this month's recognition are the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and Honduras. It's the first time the Western Hemisphere has had a common entry.
CHANG: Jacqueline Charles from the Miami Herald was on NPR's Here & Now recently, explaining what this designation means for some people.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
JACQUELINE CHARLES: In this one particular moment, Haitians are saying, you know what? Here is something that we've contributed to the world. This is something that - it's our cultural identity. We're still - we own it, and we share it with our neighbors. I mean, even when you think about the relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, there's tensions there. But this is something that they share together and that it has transcended time. It has transcended conflict.
SUMMERS: And now, other countries who couldn't be included this year want to be added. Geo Ripley is helping some prepare their submissions.
CHANG: And he wants to keep the artisans who make the bread front and center. After all, he says, there is nothing like the unique hands of a master cassava bread maker.
(SOUNDBITE OF ADANNA DURU SONG, "POP!") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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