Young women in preparing Fufu in Democratic Republic of Congo

Fufu, also spelled foofoo, foufou, or fu fu, is a staple food of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a large mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached. It may also be made by boiling flour in water, stirring vigorously with a wooden paddle until thick. In French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa, fufu is often called cous-cous. Image File history File links Fufuprep. ... Image File history File links Fufuprep. ... A staple food is basic but nutritious food that forms the basis of a traditional diet, particularly that of the poor. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... Starch is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water. ... Root vegetables are underground plant parts used as vegetables. ... Mortar and pestle A mortar and pestle are two tools used with each other to grind and mix substances. ... Look up flour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In Western Africa, foofoo is usually made from yams, sometimes combined with cocoyam, plantains, or maize. In Central Africa, fufu is often made from cassava, as is the Liberian dumboy. Fufu can also be made from semolina, rice, or even instant potato flakes. The dish is traditionally made by pounding and beating the base substance in a mortar with a wooden spoon. In more modern contexts, a food processor may also be used. For the Levantine god of the untamed sea (sometimes called Yam), see Yaw (god). ... Cocoyam can mean: Taro (Colocasia esculenta) Malanga (Xanthosoma spp. ... Plantains Plantains are hard, starchy bananas used for cooking, as contrasted with the soft, sweet dessert varieties. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz The cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta) is a woody perennial shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrate. ... Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat, with particles mostly between 0. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice refers to two species (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) of grass, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia and to Africa, which together provide more than one fifth of the calories consumed by humans. ... Instant mashed potatoes are potatoes that have been through an industrial process of cooking, mashing, and drying to yield a packaged convenience food that can be reconstituted in the home in seconds by adding hot water or milk, producing a close approximation of mashed potatoes with very little expenditure of... A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. ...

In Western Africa, fufu is often served floating in pepper soup, with meat or fish. In Central Africa, the more common method is to serve a mound of fufu along with a sauce made from okra, fish, tomato, etc. The diner pinches off a small ball of fufu and makes an indentation with the thumb. This reservoir is then filled with sauce, and the ball is eaten. In Ghana, the ball is often not chewed but swallowed whole in the manner one would swallow pills. In fact, among the older generation, chewing fufu is a faux-pas. Binomial name Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench Okra, also called ladys finger, or bhindi in Indian cuisine, is a flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, originating somewhere near present-day Ethiopia. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus: the most abundant species of fish in the world. ... Binomial name Solanum lycopersicum L. The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Central and South America, from Mexico to Peru. ...

Similar staples in Sub-Saharan Africa include ugali in East Africa, sadza and mealie pap in Southern Africa, and nshima in Malawi, which are usually made from ground maize. A satellite composite image of Africa showing the ecological break between North and Sub-Saharan regions Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not considered part of North Africa or some areas of West Africa. ... Ugali is a staple starch component of many African meals, especially in East Africa. ... East Africa is a region generally considered to include: Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Tanzania Uganda Burundi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Sudan are sometimes considered a part of East Africa. ... Cooking sadza Sadza is the Shona language name for a cooked pulverized grain meal that is the staple food in Zimbabwe. ... Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize (corn) with usage ranging from bread to pesticides. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ... nshima Nshima is a cornmeal product and a staple food in Zambia. ...

See also

• Eba
• Cornmeal
• Polenta
• Mashed potato
• Mămăliga

EBA can mean one of the following: Eba, a food made from Cassava As an acronym, EBA stands for Endemic Bird Area Enlarged Board of Appeal, see Appeal procedure before the European Patent Office Enterprise Bargaining Agreement Everything But Arms Trade Agreement Engineering & Business Alliance This is a disambiguation page... Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize (corn) with usage ranging from bread to pesticides. ... Polenta is a cornmeal mush popular in Italian, Savoy, Swiss, Austrian, Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian, Corsican, Argentinean, and Brazilian cuisine. ... Mashed potato (mashed potatoes in American English) or puréed potato is a common way of serving potato in many countries, including Argentina, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ... Standard mămăligă. It is softer than the traditional, peasant-style mămăligă Cooking a pot of mămăligă Mămăligă (cornmeal mush) is a Romanian dish made out of maize. ...

External links

• Fufu Recipe. Brad Harvey, Whats4Eats.com. URL accessed on Feb 12, 2006.