Fufu
Encyclopedia
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
and Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
. It is a thick paste usually made by boiling starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
y root vegetable
Root vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...
s in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle
Mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
until the desired consistency is reached. In the French-speaking regions of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, fufu is sometimes called couscous (couscous de Cameroun), not to be confused with the North African dish couscous
Couscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
.
Sub-Saharan African fufu
A similar staple in Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
is ugali
Ugali
Ugali is an East African dish of maize flour cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch of much of Eastern and Southern Africa...
, which is usually made from maize flour(masa) and is eaten in southern and east Africa. The name ugali is used in Kenya and Tanzania; closely related staples are called nshima
Nshima
Nshima or nsima or Bidia is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia, Malawi and the Kasai Oriental and Kasai Occidental provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is made from ground maize flour known locally as mealie-meal...
in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, nsima in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, sadza
Sadza
Sadza in Shona, Isitshwala in isiNdebele, pap in South Africa or nsima in the Chichewa language of Malawi, is a cooked corn meal that is the staple food in Zimbabwe and other parts of southern and eastern Africa. This food is cooked widely in other countries of the region.Sadza in appearance is a...
in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, pap
Pap (food)
Pap , a traditional porridge made from mielie-meal , is a staple food of the Bantu inhabitants of South Africa...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, posho in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, luku, fufu, nshima, moteke and bugari in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and phaletshe in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
.
In Nigeria the fufu is white and sticky. The traditional method of eating fufu is to wash your hands then take a marble sized ball of fufu in the right hand. You then make an indentation in the ball and scoop up the stew or soup you are eating; finally eating the fufu itself. Therefore fufu not only serves as a food but also as a utensil.
Fufu is frequently mentioned in Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
's novel Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apartis a 1958 English language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African...
.
Caribbean fufu
In CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the nations with populations of West African origin, such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico, plantains or yams are mashed and then other ingredients are added. In the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the dish is described as mangú
Mangú (dish)
Mangú is a Dominican traditional side dish served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In Cuba, and parts of Africa it is known as fufu.- Etymology :...
and mofongo
Mofongo
Mofongo is a fried plantain-based dish from Puerto Rico. There are also similar dishes, made by boiling and mashing plantains, known as fufu de plátano in Cuban cuisine and Mangú in the Dominican Republic.-Description:...
, respectively. The difference between West African fufu and Caribbean "fufu" is noted in both the texture and the flavorings, Caribbean fufu and mofongo being less of a dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
-like and more of a firm consistency. Another difference can be seen in mofongo, unlike Caribbean fufu and West African fufu the Puerto Rican mofongo is fried then mashed with broth and olive oil.
Origin
Fufu originated from Ghana, where it is pronunced "fufuo". The word fufu comes from the Twi language. It is eaten with light (tomato) soup, palm nut soup, groundnut (peanut)-abenkwan soup or other types of soups with vegetables such as nkontomire (cocoyam leaves). Soups are often made with different kinds of meat and fish, fresh or smoked. Fufu is basically pounded cassava or pounded yam pounded together with plantain. It is eaten with agussi soup or stew in Ghana and in the Northeast of Brundi.Fufu is actually originally from Ghana from the Asante ethnic group. Settlers and migrants from India, Togo and Ivory Coast discovered it and modified it in their accord. The word 'fufu' has two possible derivations, both deriving from words in the Asante language (asante twi). White, fufuoop (silent p), is the colour of prepared fufu. ; pounding, fu-fu, is the process used to produce it .
See also
- African cuisine
- BazeenBazeenBazeen is a starchy Libyan food. The main ingredient is barley flour; this is sometimes mixed with wheat flour. Bazeen is typically served with a tomato sauce, eggs, potatoes and mutton....
- Congolese cuisine
- CornmealCornmealCornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
- CouscousCouscousCouscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
- EbaEbaẸbà is a staple food eaten in West Africa, particularly in the Southern parts of Nigeria made from cassava flour, known in West Africa as gari....
- MămăligaMamaligaMămăligă is a porridge made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania and Moldova. It is similar to the Italian polenta.In Transylvania and in Carpathia mămăligă is also called puliszka...
- MangúMangú (dish)Mangú is a Dominican traditional side dish served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In Cuba, and parts of Africa it is known as fufu.- Etymology :...
- Mashed potatoMashed potatoMashed potato is made by mashing freshly boiled potatoes with a ricer, fork, potato masher, food mill, or whipping them with a hand beater. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many places...
- MofongoMofongoMofongo is a fried plantain-based dish from Puerto Rico. There are also similar dishes, made by boiling and mashing plantains, known as fufu de plátano in Cuban cuisine and Mangú in the Dominican Republic.-Description:...
- PoiPoi (food)Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant . Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm until it is a highly viscous fluid...
- PolentaPolentaPolenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
- UgaliUgaliUgali is an East African dish of maize flour cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch of much of Eastern and Southern Africa...