Five African Foods You Might Have Assumed Were US. Similar to literature and music, food may provide a unique perspective on a society or age.
for the upcoming Washington, D.C. launch of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. On Saturday, some 37,000 artifacts from collections ranging from clothes and towns to segregation and slavery will go on show, creating a mosaic of hardship, achievement, and legacy.
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Some of these artifacts will be included in an exhibit that examines African American foodways in three different regions. the Agricultural South, the Creole Coast, and the North.
Sweet Home Café, the restaurant at the museum. Also will serve food that is unique to these regions and one more, known as The Western Range. Dishes like shrimp and grits from the Creole Coast, buttermilk fried chicken from the Agricultural South. Oyster pan roast from the North, and also “Son of a Gun Stew” from the Western Range will all be available.
West African kola nuts, or Cola nitida
According to Carney, “two of the most popular drinks in the world today are based entirely, or in part, on plants that ancient Africans domesticated.” Among these plants is the kola nut, which was formerly a major component of Coca-Cola and has a “level of caffeine considerably exceeding that of coffee,” according to Carney.
According to Carney, “the early presence of the kola nut in New World plantation societies was undoubtedly contributed” by the fact that slaves used the nuts to refresh the foul water on board the ships during their transatlantic travels 카지노사이트.
Okra, Hibiscus esculentus, native to West Africa
According to Jessica Harris’ article about the thin, spear-shaped pod, “Wherever okra points its green tip, Africa has been.” It is honored and also treated with respect in the South. Where slavery persisted longer and the local climate made Africans and their descendants feel most at home. It is a staple in several states’ southern succotashes and the ultimate component in many of New Orleans’ and southern Louisiana’s gumbos. When the sensitive pods are plucked. A slick fluid emerges that Southerners seem to know how to savor—or maybe they picked up from African-Americans.”
Africa, unidentified area, Citrullus lanatus, watermelon
According to Carney, “its prototype was originally a bitter melon that was grown on arid savannas for its edible seeds and as a storable form of moisture.” The ancestor of the watermelon that we know today originated in Africa.
Although its precise origin on the continent is up for question, the fruit was widely grown and buried in the tombs of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt to provide them with water throughout their journeys to the afterlife.
Vigna unguiculata, Black-eyed peas/Cowpeas, Central and Southern Africa
Black-eyed peas have high protein content and also mineral-rich leaves. They grow fast, inhibit weed growth, and increase agricultural yields when combined with other plants. The other term for the legumes is cowpea, because they were first utilized as a food source for slaves on slave ships and then as cattle fodder in the United States. In the American South, black-eyed peas are now connected to New Year’s Day and are a main component of Hoppin’ John. A meal prepared with pork and greens that represents good fortune.
Ethiopian coffee, or Coffea arabica
Although many people think of South America when they think of coffee. Carney claims that “Ethiopia is the birthplace of the world’s premier coffee.” According to legend, it was found by a goat herder by the name of Kalbi after his herd got quite rowdy after eating berries from a tree.
Whatever the case, Carney claims that “knowing when and how to roast a coffee bean and turn it into a delicious beverage involved a deep cultural knowledge system of growing and brewing varieties from the Ethiopian highlands where it originated.”