A significant part of the Guadeloupean diet, root vegetables are high-energy foods rich in minerals. There are a large quantity of yams, some of which, such as the paspossible or lesser yam, positively melt in the mouth. The rarer couscouche sends connoisseurs into raptures, while malangas and madères are firmer but tasty, as are sweet potatoes, which are served puréed or boiled. Cassava has a special place in Guadeloupe's culinary history. This tuber was already a part of the diet of the Caribbean Indians in the 14th century. By reducing it to a purée using a grater and filtering it, they obtained a liquid which, once decanted, gave a starch known as moussache. While still damp, they sprinkled this into wide pans to make a kind of dough.

This elastic bread, known as kassav, still exists in Guadeloupe. It is still prepared in the same way, and you can find it sold at the roadside before arriving at Capesterre-Belle-Eau, and on a more limited scale around Sainte-Anne and Petit-Bourg.
Stuffed with candied coconut, or, less wellknown, with cheese, chicken or fish, these kassavs, which gave their name to a famous zouk group, are as delicious as they are nourishing. Kassavs made with cassava flour are known as kassav guillaume, and are much rarer. They can be found on Marie-Galante, however, where the tradition continues. Cassava flour is also used in Guadeloupean cuisine as an accompaniment to vegetables and rice, in féroce (a mixture of avocado, cod, cassava flour and chillies) and in cod chiquetaille.