Fufu

Pounding fufu in Kumasi, Ghana

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• published: 28 Sep 2014
• views: 79422

This video is about the pounding of fufu in Kumasi, Ghana. The people in this video consist of close family members. To pound this type of fufu, you need to use a combination of plantain and cassava. The boiled cassava is placed and mashed at the bottom of the mortar. Secondly, the boiled plantain is periodically added to the boiled cassava, whiles the current cassava and plantain mixture is being continuously manipulated into an ellipsoidal shape. The fufu and its traditional shape is being made and maintained by rhythmic kneading and pounding. Fufu (variants of the name include foofoo, foufou, fufuo) is a staple food of many countries in Africa and the Caribbean. It is often made with a flour made from the cassava plant or alternatively another flour, such as semolina or maize flour. It can also be made by boiling starchy food crops like cassava, yams or cooking plantains and then pounding them into a dough-like consistency. Fufu is eaten with the fingers, and a small ball of it can be dipped into an accompanying soup or sauce. Foods made in this manner are known by different names in different places. However, fufu stands out, especially in Ghana and in West Africa in general. Among Hausa communities in Northern Nigeria, it is known as sakora, among the Dagombas of Northern Ghana as sakoro, and as couscous (couscous de Cameroun) in the French-speaking regions of Cameroon (not to be confused with the North African dish couscous). Cassava was introduced to Africa from Brazil by Portuguese traders in the 16th century. In Ghana, before cassava was introduced, fufu was made with yam. In some situations, it is made with plantain or cocoyam. In Nigeria and Cameroon, fufu is white and sticky (if plantain is not mixed with the cassava when pounding). The traditional 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 soup and swallowed whole. Fufu, as well as other starchy food, is eaten in a great number of African countries—especially by the Asante, the Akyem, the Bono and the Fante peoples of the Akan ethnic group of Ghana. It features in Guinean cuisine as well as Nigerian cuisine. In Nigeria, fufu is often eaten with egusi soup. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fufu