The role of cassava in African cuisine

Today i took a trip with my car to Upplands Väsby outside Stockholm. There, a Swedish-Congolese association had prepared African food for everyone to try (pictured). Most of the dishes were different ways to prepare cassava, which is no surprise as cassava is a staple food in some parts of the continent. It was the first time I tried cassava and it tasted good.

Cassava was brought to Africa from South America in the 16th century and today there are many different ways of preparing cassava in Africa.

Learn more about the food of Africa

For those of you who speak Swedish or Danish, Swedish television (SVT) is now showing a Danish series about the new cuisine in Africa. The idea that runs through the show is that new African chefs are inventing new dishes, but still with the roots in the traditions of the continent. The host are sometimes speaking English with the chefs.

If you want to learn more about African dishes and be inspired, read here and here.

There are some noteworthy contributions from the African continent to food that is consumed throughout the world. One such example is Edmond Albius, an African slave who managed to find an effective way to poolinate the vanilla in the 19th century. This helped to launch the vanilla industry into a much bigger industry. Edmond Albius was born on Réunion and another African island, Madagascar, is today the biggest producer of vanilla.

3000 year old cheese found in Egypt

Its not often you come across over 3000 year old cheese. But that is exactly what has happened in Egypt. Some clay jars was found a couple of years ago in an Egyptian tomb. Now the testings show that the substance in the jars was 3000 year old cheese.

But the history of manufacturing cheese in ancient Egypt is well known.