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Liberian cuisine refers to the cuisine of Liberia. It is centered on the consumption of rice, cassava, plantain, yam, tropical fruits and vegetables (potatoes, greens, cassava leaf, okra, cabbage), as well as fish, meat, and more.
Liberia also has a tradition of baking, including cornbread, sour bread, rice bread, banana bread, and cakes.
Rice is a staple of the Liberia diet, whether commercial or country ("swamp rice"), and either served "dry" (without a sauce), with stew or soup poured over it, cooked into the classic jollof rice, or ground into a flour to make country breh (bread). [1] The cassava or tapioca root is processed and pounded into starchy foods such as fufu (using dried cassava) and dumboy (using boiled cassava). One especially popular pounded cassava dish is the northeastern regional variant Glea-Gbar, affectionately known as GB or geebee and generally served with a spicy mixed-meat soup. [1] Eddoes (taro roots) are also eaten. [2]
Popular Liberian ingredients include cassava, bananas, citrus fruit, sweet or regular plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes. [3] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and Scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu . [4] Potato greens, the leafy plant of the sweet potato, are widely grown and consumed, as is bitterball (a small vegetable similar to eggplant), and okra. [5]
Other popular stews, referred to as "soups", are toborghee, bitterleaf, cassava leaf and palaver sauce. Toborghee consists of African eggplants which are stewed and spiced with fermented palm oil. It is often bitter in taste and typically associated with the Lorma people inhabiting the area of Lofa. [6] [7]
Bitterleaf, referred to as "bittas" by the Sierra Leoneans, consists of bitter leaves mixed with ground melon seeds. [7]
Cassava leaf, referred to as "gbassajama", is made from ground cassava leaves. The leaves are then braised and tenderized in a broth and mixed together with red palm oil stock. [7]
Palaver sauce consists of jute leaves, also referred to as "plateau", that are stewed in a broth. [7]
Fish is one of the key animal protein sources in Liberia, with a 1997 study noting that in the Upper Guinea countries (of which Liberia is one), fish made up 30–80% of animal proteins in the diet. [8] However, studies have noted that in that region, consumption of fish actually declined from the 1970s to the 1990s due to "land and catchments degradation". [9] [10] Small dried fishes are known as bodies or bonnies. [11] [ self-published source ]
Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy. [12] A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst Monrovians as a preferred source of protein. [12] Of households where bushmeat was served, 80% of residents said they cooked it "once in a while", while 13% cooked it once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily. [12] The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher. [12]
Endangered species are hunted for human consumption in Liberia. [13] Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and various types of monkeys. [13]
While Liberia produces, imports, and consumes some standard beers and liquors, the traditional palm wine made from fermenting palm tree sap is popular. Palm wine can be drunk as is, used as a yeast substitute in bread, or used as vinegar after it has soured. [14] A local rum is also made from sugarcane, and called "cane juice" [15] or gana gana. [16]
Fufu is a pounded meal found in West African cuisine. It is a Twi word that originates from the Akans in Ghana. The word has been expanded to include several variations of the pounded meal found in other African countries including Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Angola, and Gabon.
Ẹ̀bà (Yoruba) also known as Ebe or Pinon' is a staple swallow from Togo and Benin, also eaten in the West African sub-region and other African countries. The term èbà originates from Yoruba. It is also called utara by the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria. It is a cooked starchy vegetable food made from dried grated cassava (manioc) flour commonly known as garri all across West Africa. It is often eaten with rich soups and stews, with beef, stockfish or mutton. The dish is often described as having a slightly sour, sharp taste.
Cameroonian cuisine is one of the most varied in Africa due to Cameroon's location on the crossroads between the north, west, and center of the continent; the diversity in ethnicity with mixture ranging from Bantus, Semi-bantus and Shuwa Arabs, as well as the influence of German, French and English colonialization.
The cuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people. Cassava, fufu, rice, plantain and potatoes are generally the staple foods eaten with other side dishes.
Mulukhiyah, also known as molokhiyya, melokhiyya, or ewedu, is a type of jute plant and a dish made from the leaves of Corchorus olitorius, commonly known in English as jute leaves, jute mallow, nalta jute, tossa jute and denje'c'jute. It is used as a vegetable and is mainly eaten in Egypt, the Levant, Sudan, Cyprus, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. It is called “Saluyot” in the Philippines. Mulukhiyah is rather bitter, and when boiled, the resulting liquid is a thick, highly mucilaginous broth; it is often described as "slimy", rather like cooked okra. Mulukhiyah is generally eaten cooked, not raw, and it is either eaten chopped and sautéed in oil, garlic and cilantro like in Syria or turned into a kind of soup or stew like in Egypt, typically bearing the same name as the vegetable in the local language. Traditionally mulukhiyah is cooked with chicken or at least chicken stock for flavor and is served with white rice, accompanied with lemon or lime.
Ghanaian cuisines refer to the meals of the Ghanaian people. The main dishes of Ghana are organized around starchy staple foods, accompanied by either sauce or soup as well as a source of protein. The main ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are tomatoes, hot peppers, and onions. Most Ghanaian soups and stews are red or orange in appearance as a result of the main ingredients used.
Dominican cuisine is made up of Spanish, indigenous Taíno, Middle Eastern, African, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Haitian influences. The most recent influences in Dominican cuisine are from the British West Indies and China.
Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also known as maafe, sauce d'arachide (French) or tigadèguèna is a stew that is a staple food in Western Africa. It originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.
Sierra Leonean cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Sierra Leone. It follows the traditions of other West African cuisines. The country has 16 tribal ethnic groups.
Palaver sauce or palava sauce or plasas is a type of stew widely eaten in West Africa, including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The word palaver comes from the Portuguese language and means a talk, lengthy debate or quarrel. It is unclear how this led to the name of the stew. One theory is that the spices used in the stew mingle together like raised voices in an argument. It has been thought of as having the power to calm tensions, or to cause them. Other names for the dish include kontonmire, kentumere, nkontommire and pla'sas.
West African cuisine encompasses a diverse range of foods that are split between its 16 countries. In West Africa, many families grow and raise their own food, and within each there is a division of labor. Indigenous foods consist of a number of plant species and animals, and are important to those whose lifestyle depends on farming and hunting.
Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from the hundreds of Native African ethnic groups that comprise Nigeria. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.
Ivorian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Côte d'Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast, and is based on tubers, grains, pig, chicken, seafood, fish, fresh fruits, vegetables and spices. It is very similar to that of neighboring countries in West Africa. Common staple foods include grains and tubers. Côte d'Ivoire is one of the largest cocoa producers in the world and also produces palm oil and coffee.
Chadian cuisine is the cooking traditions, practices, foods and dishes associated with the Republic of Chad. Chadians use a medium variety of grains, vegetables, fruits and meats. Commonly consumed grains include millet, sorghum, and rice as staple foods. Commonly eaten vegetables include okra and cassava. A variety of fruits are also eaten. Meats include mutton, chicken, pork, goat, fish, lamb and beef. The day's main meal is typically consumed in the evening on a large communal plate, with men and women usually eating in separate areas. This meal is typically served on the ground upon a mat, with people sitting and eating around it.
Central African cuisine includes the cuisines, cooking traditions, practices, ingredients and foods of the Central African Republic (CAR). Indigenous agriculture in the country includes millet, sorgum, banana, yam, okra, yellow onion, garlic, spinach, rice and palm oil. Imported crops of American origin include maize, manioc (cassava), peanuts, chili peppers, sweet potato and tomato. Additional foods include onions, garlic, chiles and peanuts.
Angolan cuisine has many dishes popular among nationals and foreigners, including funge, mufete, calulu, moamba de galinha, moamba de ginguba, kissaca, and mukua sorbet.
Guinean cuisine includes traditional Guinean dishes such as fou fou, boiled mango, fried plantains, patates and pumpkin pie.
Palm nut soup or banga is a soup made from palm fruit common in the Cameroonian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivorian communities. The soup is made from a palm cream or palm nut base with stewed marinated meats, smoked dried fish, and aromatics. It is often eaten with starch, fufu, omotuo, banku, fonio, or rice. The use of the palm fruit in cooking is significant in Ivorian, Cameronian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian and other West and Central African cuisine.
Yoruba cuisine is the numerous and diverse foods of the Yoruba people of Yorubaland. Some notable Yoruba food include : Akara, Ofada, Moi Moi, Egusi soup, Abula, Asaro, Eforiro with Okele.
Les plantes fortement attaquees sont le gombo, I'aubergine, le «bitter ball», le niebe et le piment,
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