Editing Sago (section)

==Sources, extraction and preparation==

===Palm sago===
[[File:Sago Palm being harvested for Sago production PNG.jpg|right|thumb|A sago palm being harvested for sago production]]
[[File:Sago logs.jpg|thumb|Sago logs ready for processing in Kampung Medong, [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]].]]
The sago palm, ''[[Metroxylon sagu]]'', is found in tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps across [[Southeast Asia]] and [[New Guinea]] and is the primary source of sago. It tolerates a wide variety of soils and may reach 30 meters in height (including the leaves). Several other species of the genus ''Metroxylon'', particularly ''[[Metroxylon salomonense]]'' and ''[[Metroxylon amicarum]]'', are also used as sources of sago throughout [[Melanesia]] and [[Micronesia]].

Sago palms grow very quickly, in clumps of different ages similar to bananas, one sucker matures, then flowers and dies. It is replaced by another sucker, with up to 1.5&nbsp;m of vertical stem growth per year. The stems are thick and are either self-supporting or have a moderate climbing [[Habit (biology)|habit]]; the leaves are [[pinnate]]. Each palm trunk produces a single [[inflorescence]] at its tip at the end of its life. Sago palms are harvested at the age of 7–15 years, just before or shortly after the inflorescence appears and when the stems are full of starch stored for use in reproduction. One palm can yield 150–300&nbsp;kg of starch.

[[File:Sago starch filter PNG.jpg|right|thumb|A sago starch filter]]
Sago is extracted from ''Metroxylon'' palms by splitting the stem lengthwise and removing the pith which is then crushed and kneaded to release the starch before being washed and strained to extract the starch from the fibrous residue. The raw starch suspension in water is then collected in a settling container.

===Cycad sago===
The sago cycad, ''[[Cycas revoluta]]'', is a slow-growing wild or [[ornamental plant]]. Its common names "sago palm" and "king sago palm" are misnomers as [[cycad]]s are not [[palm (plant)|palms]]. Processed starch known as sago is made from this and other cycads. It is a less-common food source for some peoples of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Unlike palms, cycads are highly poisonous: most parts of the plant contain the [[neurotoxin]]s [[cycasin]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/plant_toxin_induced_liver_damage_cycasin/intro.htm
|title=Plant toxin-induced liver damage - Cycasin |publisher=Health Grades Inc. |access-date=28 December 2009}}</ref> and [[BMAA]]. Consumption of cycad seeds has been implicated in the outbreak of [[Parkinson's disease]]-like neurological disorder in [[Guam]] and other locations in the Pacific.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sacks|first1=Oliver|title=The Island of the Colour-blind and Cycad Island|date=1996|publisher=Picador|isbn=978-0330350822|pages=109–226}}</ref> Thus, before any part of the plant may safely be eaten the toxins must be removed through extended processing.

Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse [[flour]], before being dried, pounded, and soaked. The starch is then washed carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Whiting|first1=Marjorie Grant|title=Toxicity of cycads|journal=Economic Botany|date=October 1963|volume=17|issue=4|pages=270–302|doi=10.1007/BF02860136|bibcode=1963EcBot..17..270W |s2cid=31799259}}</ref> The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a [[starch]] similar to palm sago/sabudana.

===Cassava sago===
{{main|Tapioca}}

In many countries including Australia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2020/11/26/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-sago|title = 8 things you may not know about sago|date = 26 November 2020}}</ref> Brazil,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saborbrasil.it/en/ricettas/82|title=Sagu de vinho tinto (Tapioca Pearls in Red Wine)
|access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> and India, [[tapioca balls|tapioca pearls]] made from [[cassava]] root<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Corbishley |first1=Douglas A. |chapter=TAPIOCA, ARROWROOT, AND SAGO STARCHES: PRODUCTION |date=1984 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780127462707500197 |title=Starch: Chemistry and Technology |pages=469–478  |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-746270-7.50019-7 |isbn=978-0-12-746270-7 |last2=Miller |first2=William}}</ref> are also referred to as ''sago'', ''sagu'', ''sabudana'', etc.