African Cuisine Boasts External Cultural Influences

African Cuisine Boasts External Cultural Influences

The authentic African cuisine is described with immense elegance as Africans give extreme attention to what they eat. African societies are full of long lists of both original and adapted dishes, reflecting their culture and historic interactions with other nations. African foods are varied in nature, often organic and mostly rich in fiber, overall representing a healthy choice when consumed in the right combination.

Main Ingredients

The main ingredients used by Africans are found easily throughout the continent. The majority is natural, unrefined products that are grown in subsistence farms, not far away from homes. African dishes are primarily starch based, adding a generous amount of fresh roasted meat or fish, plus vegetables. Their dishes, therefore, avoid the use of excess food additives and refined sugars. Nearly 90% of African dishes are made from organic items, unlike the predominant foods available in your nearest grocery store.

Homegrown Items

Homegrown produce is used in creating African food, just behind houses and helped by the tropical weather. All year round, Africans grow tubers, grains, nuts, cereals, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Communities also make use of fresh fish, milk, poultry, and meat from goat, lamb, cow, or bush meat. Sources of protein are very rich in stable, traditional settings, whether in coastal riverine settlements, bushy savannas, or typical rain forest settings.

Subculture Composition

You will be surprised that the entirety of African cuisine comprises of subcultures under the main African culture that have influenced and still influencing the traditional fare, including Tswana, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu to name a few. Although considered today as indigenous, these subcultures have influenced the cuisine over the years, continually evolving and developing dishes, but still retaining the original ingredients and the authentic cooking methods. Similar to most of us, the African tribes and the present generation, still consume the same staple food such as rice, potatoes, and maize (corn), all cultivated within communities to adequately feed large families.

Distinction of South African Cuisine

South African food has distinction apart from the food in the West, North, and East. The South African cuisine is described as a unique fusion of diverse external cultural influences such as the flavors and techniques of Indian, French, Dutch, and Malaysian cuisines. These influences are continuously used in homes and restaurants throughout the country. One of the major cultural influences into the African’s very own is now called the “Afrikaans” style of cooking, basically involving preservation like dried meat and dried sausage with the liberal use of salt and spices for further preservation.

Today, we can see the Afrikaans style of cooking in some parts of the globe, considering the existence and availability of “jerky” in grocery stores. Biscuits and rusks are some representations of African food recipes, including spiced sausages, kebabs, chops, and steaks that are most famous over hot coals and a way of social cooking, enjoyed outdoors and generally undertaken by men.