How to Eat Fufu
Conventional West African fufu is made by boiling starchy foods as cassava, yam, plantain or rice then pounding them into a gummy mass. fufu is a staple food to Western and Central Africa what mashed potatoes are to traditional European-American cooking. For many Africans, stew and fufu is a classic meal similar to soup and crackers in the US. Cocoyam fufu flour is specialty flour specifically formulated to produce instant fufu. Fufu can be prepared using different basic food materials. It can be made using cassava, African yams, potatoes, corn meal, plantains, Rice, and Millet. It reminds me of an unfilled dumpling, almost tasteless but tasty and accompanies any stew. To eat fufu, tear off a walnut-sized portion of the fufu scoop up stew using your hands and bits of doughy fufu. In West Africa, diners often eat fufu and the stew’s sauce first, saving the meat for the end of the meal since it’s the most expensive part. It is traditional to eat using only your right hand, no utensils. If you were to eat with your left hand, it would be both insulting and rude to those around you because usually the left hand is reserved for “bodily functions” and the hand is never used for eating.
