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Kisra: Sudan's Fermented Sorghum Flatbread and How to Make It

Kisra: Sudan's Fermented Sorghum Flatbread and How to Make It

Kisra: Sudan's Fermented Sorghum Flatbread and How to Make It Did you know Sudan's everyday bread is cooked on one side only? Kisra is a thin, tangy flatbread made from sorghum flour and water. The batter ferments for 24 to 48 hours until bubbly and pleasantly sour, then spreads thin on a hot pan for 60 to 90 seconds. Warm stacks of kisra scoop up mullah, bamia, shorba and ful medames. For another look at the same bread, see Kisra: Sudanese Fermented Sorghum Flatbread Recipe . Part of: African Cuisine › Breads, Flatbreads & Porridges The Fermentation Parad…

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Sudanese Aseeda (Asida) Recipe: A Honey and Butter Dessert

Sudanese Aseeda (Asida) Recipe: A Honey and Butter Dessert

Sudanese Aseeda (Asida) Recipe: A Honey and Butter Dessert Did you know three humble ingredients can make one of Sudan's most comforting desserts? Aseeda is a soft, giant dumpling of whole-wheat flour, cold water and salt, stirred on the stove for 10 to 15 minutes until smooth and firm. It's shaped into a dome, a deep well is pressed into the center, and melted butter and honey are poured in for everyone to share by hand. Part of: African Cuisine › Breads, Flatbreads & Porridges Figure 1. Prepared Sudanese Aseeda with honey and butter topping. What is S…

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Bambara Groundnuts and Peanuts Are Not the Same

Bambara Groundnuts and Peanuts Are Not the Same

Bambara Groundnuts and Peanuts Are Not the Same Did you know the groundnut and the peanut are two different plants? The Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is indigenous to West Africa, mild like a chickpea, and grows in poor sandy soils with little rain, mostly on women's small farms. The peanut (Arachis hypogaea) came from South America after the Columbian exchange, tastes nuttier, and carries more fat and fewer carbohydrates. Part of: African Cuisine › Vegetables, Greens & Legumes Agricultural Context: The Bambara groundnut is predominantly cultivated by wo…

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Visit the Sankofa Kitchen

Come chat with the taste of memory

African woman farmer

She Feeds Africa

Before sunrise, after sunset, seven days a week — she grows the food that keeps the continent alive.

60–80 % of Africa’s calories come from her hands.
Yet the land, the credit, and the recognition still belong to someone else.

To every mother of millet and miracles —
thank you.

The African Gourmet

Feeding a continent

How coils of metal turned into meals on the journey to Ujiji

How coils of metal turned into meals on the journey to Ujiji

In 1871, Henry Morton Stanley led over 150 people into the interior of Africa
Polio, Disability, and the Architecture of Hunger in Kano

Polio and the Architecture of Hunger

Food & Disability
Water's cultural significance

Water's Cultural Significance

From Ancient Wells to Space-Age Filters

African Gourmet FAQ

Questions Readers Ask

What is The African Gourmet?

The African Gourmet is Ivy’s home for sharing, exploring, and keeping alive African culinary heritage, online since 2006. Here, foodways—ingredients, techniques, rituals, ecology, labor, and trade—are treated as a way into understanding culture. The site is a living timeline, bringing history and today’s kitchens together so you can see culture changing in real time.

Why "Gourmet" in the name?

The name goes back to our beginnings as a culinary anthropology project and to a value we still hold: discernment. "Gourmet" here means a careful, taste-and-smell-first way of keeping food traditions alive. We choose depth over breadth, giving each post—whether a West African stew or the political story of a cashew nut—the care and context it deserves.

How do you check your facts?

I check my sources, note where stories disagree, and credit the people who shared their knowledge. My aim is to go beyond a list of facts and tell each food's story carefully, in layers. You can browse the stories by theme in the Research Guide.

How is content selected and organized?

We choose what to write about by asking three things: significance, context, and enduring value. Each post is tagged by theme (Foodway, Ingredient, Technique, Ritual, Ecology, Labor, Seasonality, etc.) and must meet our sourcing standards. We aim to be specific—tagging by ethnolinguistic group, region, and nation—so Africa’s many food stories are never flattened into one.

What geographic and cultural scope do you cover?

Our hope is to keep food traditions alive across all 54 African nations. We especially want to lift up stories that are too often overlooked. You will find deep looks at major cuisines alongside small, very local practices that broader surveys often leave out.

How do you handle sources when archives are silent?

When written records are absent, we cite living practice as a valid source. We hold ourselves to careful standards: interviews are written down (with permission), practices are observed in context, and knowledge is credited to the people and communities who hold it. This lets us honor what can’t be held in the hand—sensory knowledge, oral techniques, ritual contexts—with the same care as a printed text.

Can researchers and the public access the site?

Absolutely. Everyone is welcome here. All 20 years of posts are searchable and organized for many uses: academic research, lesson planning, journalism, and your own learning. We encourage citation. For in-depth research help, please contact us.

How does this work ensure genuine cultural preservation?

By working the same careful way since 2006, we have built more than a collection; we have created an irreplaceable record of context. We keep not just a recipe, but the labor, seasons, and meaning around it. This long, patient commitment helps future generations understand not only *what* was eaten, but *how* and *why*, in all the richness of its cultural moment.