Liberian cuisine is centered on the consumption of rice, cassava, plantain, yam, tropical fruits and vegetables (potatoes, greens, cassava leaf, okra, cabbage), as well as fish, meat, and more. Liberia also has a tradition of baking, including cornbread, sour bread, rice bread, banana bread, and cakes.

Dietary staples

Starches

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

is a staple of the Liberia diet, whether commercial or country ("swamp rice"), and either served "dry" (without a sauce), with stew or soup poured over it, cooked into the classic

jollof rice Jollof (), or jollof rice, is a rice dish from West Africa. The dish is typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables and meat in a single pot, although its ingredients and preparation methods vary across different re ...

, or ground into a flour to make ''country breh'' (bread). Cassava is processed into several types of similar starchy foods: ''

fufu Fufu (or fufuo, foofoo, foufou ) is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, t ...

'', '' dumboy'', and GB (or ''geebee''). ''

Eddoes Eddoe or eddo is a tropical vegetable often considered identifiable as the species ''Colocasia antiquorum'', closely related to taro (dasheen, ''Colocasia esculenta''), which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms).Purseglove, J.W. 197 ...

'' (

taro root Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

) is also eaten.

Fruits and vegetables

Popular Liberian ingredients include

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, bananas,

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

, sweet or regular plantains, coconut,

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

and

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...

. Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with ''

''. Potato greens, the leafy plant of the sweet potato, is widely grown and consumed, as is bitterball (a small vegetable similar to eggplant), and okra. Other popular stews, referred to as "soups", are toborghee, bitterleaf, cassava leaf and palaver sauce. Toborghee consists of African eggplants which are stewed and spiced with fermented palm oil. It is often bitter in taste and typically associated with the Loma people, Lorma people inhabiting the area of Lofa County, Lofa. Bitterleaf, referred to as "bittas" by the Sierra Leoneans, consists of bitter leaves mixed with ground melon seeds. Cassava leaf, referred to as "gbassajama", is made from ground cassava leaves. The leaves are then braised and tenderized in a broth and mixed together with red palm oil stock. Palaver sauce consists of jute leaves, also referred to as "plateau", that are stewed in a broth.

Fish and meat

Fish is one of the key animal protein sources in Liberia, with a 1997 study noting that in the Upper Guinea countries (of which Liberia is one), fish made up 30–80% of animal proteins in the diet. However, studies have noted that in that region, consumption of fish actually declined from the 1970s to the 1990s due to "land and catchments degradation". Small dried fishes are known as ''bodies'' or ''bonnies''.

Bushmeat

Environmental issues in Liberia, Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy. A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst Monrovians as a preferred source of protein. Of households where bushmeat was served, 80% of residents said they cooked it "once in a while", while 13% cooked it once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily. The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher. Endangered species are hunted for human consumption in Liberia. "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals"
Anne Look, Voice of America News, May 08, 2012. Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, Common chimpanzee, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and various types of monkeys.

Alcohol

While Liberia produces, imports, and consumes some standard beers and liquors, the traditional palm wine made from fermenting palm tree sap is popular. Palm wine can be drunk as is, used as a yeast substitute in bread, or used as vinegar after it has soured. A local rum is also made from sugarcane, and called "cane juice" or ''gana gana''.

References

{{Authority control Liberian cuisine, West African cuisine