Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

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. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

Cassava Leaves, Sweet Potato Leaves, and Cocoyam Recipes

Three African Food Recipes Using Cassava Leaves, Sweet Potato Leaves, and Cocoyams.

African staple foods that can make if you know how to cook cassavas, sweet potatoes, and cocoyams.


Carrying cassava home for dinner tonight
Carrying cassava home for dinner tonight


About popular African food ingredients cassava, sweet potato, and cocoyam toxins and safe African food recipes. Make three easy African food recipes of Curry Cassava Leaves, Saute Sweet Potato Leaves, and Cocoyam Vegetable Soup.

African Food Staple of Cassava
Cassava is known by various names, manioc, yucca, yuca, mandioca, and tapioca. Cassava originated from tropical America and was first introduced into Africa in the Congo Basin by the Portuguese around 1558.

Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava.

Nearly every person in Africa eats around 176 pounds or 80 kilograms of cassava per year. It is estimated that 37% of dietary energy comes from cassava. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest consumer of cassava in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Nigeria.

Many varieties of cassava contain a substance called linamarin that produces cyanide that makes the crop toxic if inadequately processed. Various processing methods, such as grating, sun drying, and fermenting, are used to reduce the cyanide content.

An efficient processing method will release the enzyme linamarase by disintegrating the microstructure of the cassava root. Excessive consumption of cassava, as the sole source of dietary energy and the main source of protein, could thus increase vulnerability to cyanide toxicity.

Several diseases have been associated with the toxic effects of cassava. Its causative role has been confirmed in the pathological condition of acute cyanide intoxication and in goiter, a swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland.

There is also some evidence linking two types of paralysis to the combined effects of high cyanide and low sulfur intake. Tropical Atoxic Neuropathy and Epidemic Spastic Paraparesis, causes damage to the spinal cord.

Tropical ataxic neuropathy is a paralysis disease common in Nigeria where a lot of cassava is consumed without the addition of sufficient protein-rich supplementary foods to provide an adequate supply of sulfur amino acids for the detoxification of ingested cyanide.

All the cases reported came from the area where cassava is cultivated and eaten in large quantities. In the case of epidemic spastic paraparesis, in parts of Mozambique, a bitter toxic type of cassava is often planted as a food reserve because of its high yield as cassava constitutes about 80% of the basic diet.


This disease affects mainly women and children. It damages the nerve tract in the spinal cord that transmits signals for movement, thus causing aspastic paralysis of both legs.

Cassava is toxic when insufficient fermentation of the cassava that leaves residual cyanide. Cassava can be peeled, sliced and sun-dried for about three weeks after which the cyanide level is reduced to about, pounded to a flour, mixed with hot water to make a thick paste-like stiff mashed potatoes.


This paste is normally eaten with a relish of beans, fish or vegetables, to provide a well-balanced meal. This is a safe way to eat cassava in Africaminus the cyanide.

Curry Cassava Leaves Served with Ugali
Curry Cassava Leaves Served with Ugali


Curry Cassava Leaves Served with Ugali

African food recipes are easy to make at home.

Curry Cassava Leaves African Food Recipe

Ingredients
3 handfuls cassava leaves, chopped
1 medium white onion, diced
1 hot pepper, chopped (optional)
¼ cup of coconut milk
1 tablespoon good-quality curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
In a large pot, add oil, curry, salt, and onions over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft and light brown. Add coconut milk, hot pepper then cassava leaves, stir and cover 5 minutes. When leaves are cooked to your liking (soft or with some bite left in them) serve with ugali.


African Sweet Potato
Sweet potato contains raffinose, one of the sugars responsible for flatulence. Three of the sugars which occur in plant tissues, raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose are not digested in the upper digestive tract, and so are fermented by colon bacteria to yield the flatus gases, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The level of raffinose in the sweet potato depends on the plant. Trypsin inhibitors occur in a wide range of foods and sweet potatoes contain a trypsin inhibitor.

Trypsin inhibitors are foods that inhibit the activity of the enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin in the gut, preventing protein digestion. Cooking the sweet potato for several minutes inactivates trypsin inhibitors.

Sweet potatoes contain oxalates that can increase the risk of kidney stones. Kidney stones are the result of a buildup of dissolved minerals on the inner lining of the kidneys.

Sweet potato varieties are classified as either firm or soft. The skin color can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown. The flesh also ranges in color from white to yellow, orange, or orange-red.

Yams are native to Africa and Asia. The sweet potato, maybe native to tropical America introduced to Western Africa by the Portuguese in the 1500s.

Easy Saute Sweet Potato Leaves African Food Recipe




Easy Saute Sweet Potato Leaves



Easy Saute Sweet Potato Leaves

Just as spinach sweet potato leaves cook down a lot and have a similar
taste.

Ingredients
4 large handfuls sweet potato leaves, chopped
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
Add ingredients into a large pot and sauté about 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

Making African Cocoyams
African cocoyams are often associated with peasant crops; cocoyam is considered a poor man’s crop or a woman’s crop. Cocoyams have several plant varieties, some with edible tubers and others with edible stems. Cocoyam or Taro plants are a traditional woman's staple root crop in many countries in Africa.

Cocoyam, if eaten raw, the calcium oxalate crystals cause a stinging feeling to the mouth and throat; cocoyam must be cooked before being eaten. The high content of calcium oxalate crystals in some species of cocoyam can cause kidney stones. The bitterly pungent high oxalate plant varieties of cocoyam can be reduced by peeling, grating, soaking and fermenting during processing.

Women are the cultivators of cocoyam farming in most African countries, thus improving cocoyam production should have a direct impact on the most economically vulnerable groups. Women cocoyam farmers play an important role in farming for daily food and income for their families, especially in Nigeria that is one of the largest producers of cocoyam in the world contributing about 40% of total annual production.


African cocoyam vegetable soup


Cocoyam Vegetable Soup African Food Recipe at Home

Ingredients
1 large cocoyam root peeled and diced
3 large tomatoes, diced
2 handfuls bitter leaf or kale
2 medium chopped onions
1 medium chopped red bell pepper
1 medium chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups vegetable stock

Directions
Add all ingredients to a large pot, simmer until thick 25 minutes. Serve warm
with rice.


Harvesting fresh greens in Ghana Africa

Harvesting fresh greens in Ghana Africa




Chic African Culture



More economical easy breakfast, 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. Frikkadelle an Afrikaner dish of meatballs
  3. Senegalese Chicken Vermicelli
  4. Chadian Steamed Honey Cassava Buns
  5. Cameroon Smoked Bonga Fish Stew

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

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.

This Week’s Best Posts and Pages

Exploring the Rich Waterways of Africa

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Rising Above the Dust the World of Evala Wrestling

Using Amen and Ashe or Ase

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

Support African History and Culture

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.

Chic African Culture


Be better than average and support African history and culture. Since 2008 Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet highlight Africa through her food and culture. Contact us culture1africangourmet@gmail.com

More LOVE from Africa to Read About