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 Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, Angola and Gabon. It is often made in the traditional Ghanaian, Ivorian,

n, and Cuban method of separately mixing and pounding equal portions of boiled cassava with green plantain or cocoyam, or by mixing cassava/plantains or cocoyam flour with water and stirring it on a stove. Its thickness is then adjusted to personal preference, and it is eaten with broth-like soups. Some countries, particularly the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, have a version of fufu (Akpu) made from fermented cassava dough that is eaten with thick textured stews. Other flours, such as semolina, maize flour, or mashed plantains, may take the place of cassava flour. FuFu is traditionally eaten with the fingers, and a small ball of it can be dipped into an accompanying soup or sauce.

Names

* Angola: , * Benin: , * Cameroon: , * Central African Republic: *

Congo-Kinshasa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

: , , * Gabon: * Ghana: , , *

: *

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

: , *

: * Nigeria: , , , , , * Sierra Leone: * Togo:

African fufu

Portuguese traders introduced cassava to Africa from Brazil in the 16th century, fufu was mainly made from cocoyam, plantain and yams. In Ghana, fufu, also known as fufuo, is white and sticky (if plantain is not mixed with the cassava when pounding). The

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

method of eating fufu is to pinch some of the fufu off in one's right hand fingers and form it into an easily ingested round ball. The ball is then dipped in the soup before being eaten.

Fufu made in Ghana

In Twi, fufu or fufuo means "mash or mix", a soft and doughy staple food. It is believed to originate in what is now modern-day Ghana, by the Ashanti people, Asante, the Akuapem people, Akuapem, the Guan people, Guans, the Akyem, the Bono people, Bono and the Fante people, Fante people of the Akan people, Akan Demographics of Ghana, ethnic group of Ghana and now generally accepted across the country. In Ghana, it is made out of pieces of boiled cassava and/or other tubers such as Cooking banana, plantain or cocoyam. It is mostly pounded together in a locally made wooden Mortar and pestle, mortar (woduro) using a wooden pestle (woma). In between blows from the pestle, the mixture is turned by hand and water is gradually added till it becomes slurry, soft and sticky. The mixture is then formed into a rounded slab and served. With the invention of the fufu machine preparation has become much less labour-intensive. The resulting food is eaten with liquid soups (nkwan) such as light soup (nkrakra nkwan), abenkwan (palm nut soup), nkatenkwan (peanut butter soup), and abunubunu soup. Today, it also features in Beninese cuisine, Cameroonian cuisine, Guinean cuisine, Nigerian cuisine, and Togolese cuisine, where it is eaten with hot pepper soup, okra, or other kinds of stew. Fufu's prevalence in West African subregions have been noted in literature produced by authors from that area. It is mentioned in Chinua Achebe's ''Things Fall Apart'', for example.

Fufu made in Nigeria

In Nigeria, ''fufu'' or ''akpu'' is a popular food made from fresh or fermented cassava. Akpu, properly punctuated as akpụ in Igbo, is the Igbo word for cassava. Requiring several days to make, akpu is a wet paste often eaten with egusi soup. Akpu is traditionally made by peeling and washing raw cassava until it is white. Left in water for 3–4 days, the cassava ferments and becomes soft. It is then filtered with a porous calabash or sieve. Excess water is typically and quickly drained by pouring the wet paste into a sack, upon which is placed something heavy and flat (e.g., a plank and brick). The paste is then pounded and molded into large balls and simmered for 30–60 seconds, after which it is thoroughly pounded to remove lumps, molded again into smaller balls, boiled for 10–15 minutes, and then pounded until smooth. It is popular throughout Nigeria, particularly in the East.

Fufu made in Cote d'Ivoire

In Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire, the word “''foutou''” is also used. Ivorian “''foufou''” is specifically sweet mashed plantains, whereas the “foutou” is a stronger, heavier paste made of various staple foods such as yam (vegetable), yam, cassava, Cooking banana, plantains, taro or a mix of any of those. In the French-speaking regions of Cameroon, it is called “''couscous''” (not to be confused with the North African dish couscous). A similar staple in the African Great Lakes region is ugali. It is usually made from maize flour (masa), and is also eaten in Southern Africa. The name ugali is used to refer to the dish in Kenya and Tanzania, ubugali in Rwanda. Closely related staples are called nshima in Zambia, nsima in Malawi, sadza in Zimbabwe, pap or vuswa in South Africa, posho in Uganda, luku, fufu, nshima, moteke, semoule, ugali and bugari in the Republic of the Congo and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and phaletšhe in Botswana.

Caribbean fufu

In Caribbean nations with substantial populations of West African origin, such as Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico, Cooking banana, plantains, cassava or yams are mashed with other ingredients. In Cuba, the dish retains its original African stem name, termed simply as ''fufú'' or with added descriptive extensions like ''fufú de plátano'' or ''fufú de plátano pintón.'' On other major islands, ''fufú'' goes by the names of Mangú (dish), mangú in the Dominican Republic, mofongo and funche in Puerto Rico. What distinguishes the Caribbean "fufú" from its West African relative is a firmer texture with stronger flavors. As it moves away from Cuba, the ''fufú's'' core is less a mwod:gelatinous, gelatinous dough and more of a consistent mass. In Haiti it is called ''tonm tonm and Foofoo''. It is mostly made of breadfruit but can be made of plantain or yams and is usually served with an okra based stew or soup. It is primarily consumed in the southernmost regions of Haiti namely the Grand'Anse (department), Grand'Anse and Sud (department), Sud departments. The city of Jérémie is regarded as the tonmtonm capital of Haiti. Puerto Rican mofongo, in keeping with the creolized cuisine traditions of the Caribbean, tends toward a ''fufú'' of much higher density and robust seasoning. While keeping a conspicuous African character, mofongo has borrowed from the island's Hispanic, Iberian culinary tradition, to create a dish made of fried green and yellow plantains, cassava or breadfruit. Unlike the mushier Caribbean and West African ''fufús'', mofongo is generally firmer and crustier. To prepare mofongo, green plantains are deep-fried once unlike twice fried tostones. Next, they are mashed in a 'pilon' (mortar and pestle, mortar) with chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil. The resulting mash is then pressed and rounded into a hollowed crusty orb. Meat, traditionally ''chicharrón'', is then stuffed into the chunky ball of fried green plantains. A few recipes call for a meat or vegetable ''salsa criolla" ''(related to American Creole sauce) poured on top of the hot sphere. In the trendier "mofongo relleno," typical of western Puerto Rico, seafood is all over, inside and outside. Traditional mofongo, as previously cited, comes seasoned and stuffed with meat and bathed in a chicken broth soup. Because of its elaborate process of preparation and its sundry ingredients, poet and blogger Arose N Daghetto called the mofongo a type of "fufú paella" and branded it as "the big daddy of fufús.''"''. Although mofongo is associated with being fried, boiled and roasting plantain mofongo predate fried mofongo and is still excited but a rare find in Puerto Rico. A dish called ''funche'' made with taro, green and yellow plantains boiled and mashed with butter, garlic, and pork fat was once popular in Puerto Rico. Once mashed it was formed into balls and eaten with broth made from sesame seeds. Funche is written in early Puerto Rican cookbooks around the 1800s, but can probably be traced back to African slaves on the island. Funche today in Puerto Rico is cornmeal cooked in coconut milk and milk. The vegetable or fufú sauce in the Anglo-Caribbean is not fried first. Cooking banana, Plantain is not used as much, as it is used in so many dishes. Fufu is usually part of, or added to, a soupy sauce or on the side with a soupy dish. In Antigua, fufu is served as part of the national dish but is called fungi/fungee and is made using cornmeal and okra. Similarly, in Barbados it serves as part of the national dish and is called ''cou-cou'' and uses cornmeal or, less commonly, breadfruit instead, like several other English Caribbean islands.

Nutrition

Nutritionally, 100 Gram, g dry weight fufu contains 2 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat and 84 g of carbohydrates. There are 267 Calorie, kcal of food energy in a 100 g serving made up with water. It is very low in cholesterol and very rich in potassium, and it is commonly prescribed by doctors for people who have Hypokalemia, low level of potassium in their blood.

Gallery

Eating together as a family.jpg, Eating Fufu together as a family Fufu.jpg, A plate of fufu (right) accompanied by peanut soup Fufu-palmnutsoup.jpg, Fufu (left) and Oil palm, palm nut soup (right) Foufou.jpg, Fufu Nigerian Food Fufu.jpg, Nigerian food: fufu being sold on the street in Lagos Wrapped fufu.jpg, Wrapped fufu Preparing the fufu.jpg, Preparing fufu in Togo Wooden Pestle and Mortar.jpg, Wooden pestle and mortar for pounding fufu Fufu Machine used by a food vendor.jpg, Fufu machine used by a food vendor Pounded fufu 2.jpg, Pounded fufu File:Fufu with no soap.jpg, Fufu from Ghana Fufu,_A_typical_Ghanaian_cuisine.jpg , Ghanaian fufu with light soup and goat meat and smoked fish

References

External links

* Microwavable instant fufu. {{African cuisine Angolan cuisine Belizean cuisine Burkinabé cuisine Cameroonian cuisine Caribbean cuisine Central African cuisine Central African Republic cuisine Costa Rican cuisine Cuban cuisine Democratic Republic of the Congo cuisine Ecuadorian cuisine Gabonese cuisine Ghanaian cuisine Guinean cuisine Haitian cuisine Igbo cuisine Ivorian cuisine Jamaican cuisine Liberian cuisine Maize dishes Malian cuisine National dishes Nigerian cuisine Panamanian cuisine Republic of the Congo cuisine Swallows (food) Togolese cuisine West African cuisine Yoruba cuisine