My Guide to Food – Exploring and Mapping intersections between Nigerian Cuisine and Foods of the World
The best way? Depends. On what? How ripe the mango is. Unripe and just-ripe mangoes are easy to strip of the skin with a vegetable peeler. This minimises the amount of flesh/ pulp discarded with green skin. Ripe ones are a whole other story. They give when you peel. I find some varieties yield to the […]
This is something you want, need, must have in your freezer this season when mangoes are on every street corner and fruit stand. Mango puree for the win, because this is quick and easy and can be used in a myriad of ways – drinks, desserts, sauces and on and on. And all in 4 […]
It’s three weeks into the start of corn season, at least in the south/west of Nigeria. Corn stands are popping up all around, decorated with the brown hard shells and white flesh of coconut. I see Asala, African Black walnut too, hawked on red-rimmed enamel trays but still no Ube, purple butter pear. Last year I explored […]
It’s the season again people, the season of and for Mangoes. The History of Mangoes The mango has been the most popular tropical fruit since 2000 BC or earlier. Of the genus Mangifera and flowering plant family, Anacardiaceae this flesh stone fruit is native to the Indian subcontinent from where it spread round the world. There are over 400 varieties of […]
Pawpaw. Papaya. Suited to sweet.and savoury preparations. Spiralised Pawpaw. Fruit & Tea. Bruleed Toast. By now, you would know I have OCD. Compulsiveness in most of my ways. Like when I discover a new ingredient or see it in new light. You must know that I become consumed with it, using, learning, smelling, tasting, photographing […]
If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again. Whether that be in love or toffee. No, I don’t give up that easily. Where powdered milk and glucose wouldn’t do the trick to form a delightful Agbalumo toffee, cream, maple syrup and light corn syrup did. While I applaud my genius and […]
Yes, flavour pairings are a personal thing…what people like to eat together, but also what ingredients go with what. They are also based on scientific studies – flavour families with which we’re familiar, like floral of Zobo and Meyer lemons; citrus of oranges and limes and lemons; and on and on and on. The truth is […]
I know Agbalumo will be out of season soon…and so I’m extracting it’s essence in a variety of ways to enjoy long after. Though Preservation isn’t a common practice in Nigeria, I think it should be for various reasons. For one, we need to test the boundaries of our fruits and vegetables and one way […]
One. Its acidity. Someday, we might be able to find the best way to make more than scattered cheese curds with the flesh and its liquid. The experiment below involved Agbalumo flesh in a jar, filled with milk and left refrigerated for a couple of days. Two, the liquid extracted from macerating Agbalumo flesh in […]
Hi. My name is Ozoz. I’m a Nigerian food explorer who’s on a quest – to find and share the sweet, sweet nectar that’s food
