STAPLE INGREDIENTS REGION BY REGION

WEST AFRICA

Rice is the staple grain, closely followed by millet, sorghum, and fonio. Corn (whole or Ricornmeal) and wheat (as flour) are also widely used. In the Sahel region, millet is eaten as a flour or as a semolina, whereas in West Africa, fonio (a type of fine millet) is eaten as a semolina.

The most commonly eaten produce is:rice, millet, sorghum, fonio, corn, wheat flour;

beef, mutton, chicken , guinea fowl, turkey, grouper or white grouper, emperor fish or Nile perch, bass, mullet, crayfish, oysters, shellfish;

plantain, okra, peanuts, bissap (hibiscus flowers), beet, carrot, turnip, spinach, ginger, root vegetables (yam, cassava, sweet potato, taro, macabo), beans, cashews, African pistachios.

CENTRAL AFRICA

While in West Africa a dish is never eaten without rice, in Central Africa a dish is primarily eaten with a good chunk of cassava tuber, and there are many varieties that exist in all kinds of forms: bobolo, miondo, chikwangue, ogouma, garri...

The most commonly eaten tubers are cassava, taro, yam, sweet potato, and macabo. Plantains are the next most common food, closely followed by rice and corn.

Given the presence of dense equatorial forests and numerous waterways, game meat, fish, and crustaceans are also regularly enjoyed. Following the various Ebola virus epidemics over the past 20 years, game meat has, however, been gradually replaced by poultry, including chicken, guinea fowl, and turkey. Fish and crustaceans are eaten fresh, salted, dried and/or smoked, seasoned with red palm oil.

The most commonly eaten produce is: rice, corn;

beef, mutton, chicken, guinea fowl, turkey, sea bream, sole, emperor fish or Nile perch, bass, mullet, tilapia, crab, crayfish, oysters, shellfish, lobster; cassava, taro, yam, sweet potato, macabo, plantain, beans, peanuts, African pistachios, okra, Guinea sorrel.

EAST AFRICA

The regions of East Africa have been influenced by many different cultures, and as a result they are characterized by many diverse ingredients, flavors, and cooking methods. Dishes are almost always cooked using a large range of spices, which must be of high quality to ensure authentic flavor. The use of freshly ground black peppercorns or 20-year-old cinnamon bark, for example, is key to giving dishes from this region their authentic intensity.

In general, East African cooking usually focuses on grains, slow-cooked stews, curries, and dairy products, which are (especially in the Horn of Africa) infused with a variety of spices and spice mixes of Arab influence (Yemen, Oman, and Egypt) in the north, as well as the Indian connection to the east.

Ethiopian cuisine is undoubtedly the most well-known in East Africa. The country's signature dish is injera, a fermented flatbread made from teff flour, that is springy, slightly sour, and used like a utensil to pick up other food instead of using silverware (a bit like chapati or other Indian flatbreads). The most popular dish served with injera is wat, a thick beef, vegetable, or lentil stew.

The most commonly eaten produce is:rice, corn, cassava, sorghum, millet;beef, mutton, chicken, sea bream, emperor fish or Nile perch, bass, mullet,tilapia, crab, crayfish, shrimp, sardines;beans, lentils, kale, tomatoes, coconut, carrot, sweet pepper;pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, tea, curry.

SOUTH AFRICA

As a former trading post, this region carries countless traces of the past, whether they be of Portuguese, Malaysian, Dutch, or even Arab or Indian origin. All the South African countries are meat-eating countries. It is therefore impossible (unless you follow a strict vegetarian diet) to leave this part of the continent without experiencing a local barbecue, called a braai. It is common to all the countries in this region and is a real institution among locals. The most commonly eaten produce is: millet, corn, beans, wheat;

beef, kudu, springbok, lamb, impala, biltong (dried meat), sausages (boerewors),

crab, shrimp, lobster, oysters, fish;

• avocado, cashews, coconut, marula, ginger, lemon, orange, pomelo, grapes, sweet pepper, tomato, cucumber.