Chic African Culture Blog

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. African tech startups raise billions of dollars annually, seven African start-ups were included in the World Economic Forum 2021 cohort of 100 Technology Pioneers.

You and Africa Have More in Common Than You Think

African and Southern American cooking are uniquely tied by food, culture and history. 

The culture of African and Southern American cooking are also similar in the manner in which recipes are passed down from generation to generation.

Africa Influenced Southern USA Cooking

Africa's Influence On Southern USA Cooking

Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture


Slaves from Africa in the South represented about 33 percent of the total southern population.

Frying is not ingenious to African cooking


The population of the Southern United States is made up of many different people from the African continent. In 1619, the Dutch introduced the first 20 captured Africans to America by way of Jamestown Virginia. 

In the 17th and 18th centuries, black slaves worked mainly on the tobacco, rice and indigo plantations of the Southern coast. Between 1774 and 1804, the northern states abolished slavery, but the so-called peculiar institution remained vital to the South. 

Slaves in the South represented about 1/3 of the total southern population. The vast majority of slaves labored in the fields, while a select few worked in the big house. One vegetable plant cooked in the big house stands out from the rest as being quintessentially African and Southern, the mighty okra plant.

From Ethiopia to West Africa to West Virginia to Texas, okra is an essential cooking ingredient. Okra was cultivated in Egypt for many hundreds of years; one of the earliest accounts of okra is by the Spanish in Egypt in 1216. Hibiscus esculentus or okra is of African origin originating from Ethiopia.

Okra grows wild along the White Nile and the upper Nile country as well as in Ethiopia. As most Africans and Southerners know, okra is rarely cooked alone except when fried. Cooking methods such as stewing and barbequing may stem from African cooking traditions. 

These slow cooking methods involve making food that requires long simmering periods in order to make food tender. In addition, African cooking just like Southern cooking was born from the economics of survival one-pot cooking, stews, gumbos, thickening with okra or grounded nuts. 

The culture of African and Southern American cooking are also similar in the manner in which recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Just as it is in Southern cooking, cooking in African culture is an oral tradition and traditional recipes are handed down by word of mouth rather than writing a recipe. African and Southern American cooking are uniquely tied by food, culture and history. 

Did you know? Frying is not ingenious to African cooking, Native Americans taught frying techniques to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.


Okra is an essential cooking ingredient in Africa and the Southern USA


More economical easy lunch and dinner recipes to make right now so you never have to eat or prepare a boring meal again.

  1. Curried Tanzanian Coconut Okra Recipe
  2. Yedoro Stir Fried Ethiopian Chicken Dinner
  3. Senegalese Chicken Vermicelli
  4. Caldo Verde Portuguese Kale Soup
  5. Air Fryer Black Eyed Pea Dumpling Stew

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Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

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African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

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Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet are dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing African history and heritage celebrating 14 years of service in 2021. Share and support in the pride of being part of an important cultural and educational resource.


Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

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