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National Fufu Day
Fufu, the marvelously mouth-watering delicacy that is beloved by West Africans, now has its own holiday National Fufu Day on August 11. This day honors fufu as it takes its place among the world’s most iconic cuisines. Coinciding with West Africa’s traditional yam festival, which takes place every year in August, the region’s rainy season is the perfect time to celebrate this wonderful finger food.
The traditional recipe for fufu uses true yams, which are boiled and then pounded in a wooden mortar and pestle until a smooth and sticky dough is formed. The tart and sour flavor of pounded starches pair well with full-bodied and well-seasoned meat and vegetable dishes.
As the popularity of fufu grows internationally, it becomes more important for everything concerning fufu to be readily available, including how to make it and where to buy it. Luckily, hungry connoisseurs and fufu enthusiasts alike can check out the book called “The Art of Fufu,” written and compiled by Grubido. The book aims to shine a light on this traditional staple dish, which is a favorite in its native region of Africa and in the Caribbean, and is now beginning to appear on menus all over the world.
The yam is a very important food crop in West Africa. Not only are yams revered for their nutritional value and taste, but their cultivation also holds cultural, religious, and social significance to different ethnic groups and regions. One dish that has yams as its main ingredient is fufu. Widely believed to have originated in Ghana, where it is considered a staple, fufu is among the most enjoyed staple dishes in West Africa, making its appearance on tables in Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Cameroon, and Mali. It spread to the Western Hemisphere during the colonial period, becoming a favorite dish in Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico.
As fufu has spread throughout the continent and made its way across the world, several variations have developed. Other starchy produce, such as cassava, malanga, plantains, maize, and semolina, has been used in recipe variations. Fufu is usually served with a bowl of savory soup or stew and the composition varies regionally.
However, one thing that all the variations have in common is you simply have to eat fufu with your hands to enjoy it fully and authentically. A bite-sized morsel of dough is pinched off, rolled into a ball, and then indented with your thumb. This tiny crater is created to hold the sauce or stew that the dough ball is then dipped into. Savor the explosion of textures and flavors this is how you eat fufu like a pro!
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