Fermented cassava, maize and millet, locust beans and oil seeds, and palm wine from West and Central Africa.
Ugba (ukpaka) is the Igbo fermented African oil bean: the seeds of Pentaclethra macrophylla are boiled for hours, dehulled, sliced, cooked again, soaked overnight and washed, then wrapped…
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Gari is a West African staple made from cassava that is peeled, grated, fermented, pressed and roasted into dry granules with no more than 12% moisture (Codex). The…
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Pito is the malted sorghum beer of northern Ghana, called dolo in Burkina Faso. Sorghum malt is mashed, then the wort is soured overnight at 30–33°C by lactic…
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Fura da nono is a drink from northern Nigeria and the Sahel: fura (millet dough balls spiced with ginger, cloves and pepper, cooked to set) crumbled into nono…
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Kunu is a family of non-alcoholic grain drinks from northern Nigeria; kunun zaki, the most popular, is made by steeping millet (often with sorghum), wet-milling it with ginger…
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Palm wine is the naturally fermented sap of palm trees such as oil, raffia, palmyra and coconut palms, drunk across West and Central Africa and South and Southeast…
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Ogiri is a pungent fermented seed paste used to season soups in southern Nigeria and West Africa. Cooked seeds – castor (ogiri isi), melon or sesame – are…
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Kenkey is southern Ghana's fermented maize dumpling: maize is soaked, ground and fermented for about 2–3 days, part of the dough is cooked into aflata and kneaded back…
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Dawadawa (iru, soumbala) is a West African seasoning of fermented African locust beans (Parkia biglobosa). The seeds are boiled, dehulled, boiled again and fermented 2–4 days by Bacillus…
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Gari, fufu and attiéké are West and Central African staples made by fermenting cassava. Raw cassava contains linamarin, which can release cyanide; grating, fermenting, pressing and toasting or…
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Ogi (pap or akamu) is a West African fermented porridge. Maize, sorghum or millet is soaked for one to three days, wet-milled and sieved, and the settled starch…
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