Fufu is one of Ghana’s best delicacies. It is the staple food of the Akan community. However, other this delicacy is loved by all.
Traditionally, a lot of time is spent on preparing the meal with the traditional wooden mortar-and-pestle. Sundays in most homes will not be complete without a sumptuous meal of fufu and goat light soup popularly referred to as “Aponkye Nkrakra”. Even though many love the meal, the pounding of fufu leads to the hardening of the palms and its arduous preparation.
In recent times, there has been a transformation in the preparation of fufu as efforts continue to be made to do away with the pounding to make it less arduous.
People have generated innovative ways of making fufu pounding less stressful with the manufacture of the fufu powder and now the fufu pounding machine. But the question is, are Ghanaians at home with these new ways of making fufu? In this special report, Bridget Amewudo takes a look at fufu preparation, from the traditional way of pounding to the modern methods.
It is often said that a Recipe has no soul. You, the cook must bring soul to it. This reflects how both Cooks and Consumers of fufu make it mouth watering. Ghana and countries like Cote d’Ivore, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, and Nigeria enjoy this delicacy, but theirs cannot be compared to how Ghanaians especially Ashantis appreciate fufu.
A food which many have tagged as difficult to prepare yet enjoyable when eating is now spread across the country. Fufu is often served with either Light Soup with Goat meat, groundnut soup, palm nut soup, “abunuabunu” (Spinach Soup) or my personal favourite, “Nkatikonto” (Groundnut and Spinach soup).
The traditional way of preparing the food also known as ‘timtim’ where cassava and plantain are boiled and later pounded in mortar to make it soft and sticky is gradually fading out. In the name of modernity and technology, business minded people have transformed the cassava into powder, the popular among them Neat Fufu.
Recently, the new kid on the block, the fufu pounding machine has joined the modernity trend and brought relief to those who hitherto stopped eating fufu because of the stress involved in preparing the delicacy. The new development appears to be catching on with several homes. It’s quite common these days to find fufu pounding outlets offering these services.
The fufu pounding machine is similar to the corn mill in terms of its operation and make up. It seems to be fizzling out the conventional fufu pounding with the mortar and pestle. But what do fufu lovers think? Radio Ghana puts the question to the public.
While some said they prefered the modern way of fufu pounding, they however have concerns with the neatness of the machine. Some also say the taste cannot be compared to the traditional way.
