Staple Food Study Guide

Africans knew how to grow rice, tend to cattle, harvest the naval stores (tar, pitch and turpentine) and lumber from the forests.This all led to great trading with Barbados and England. This cash crop system and increasing plantation land increased and continued to need for more

There are many misconceptions that have been universally accepted mentioned in Curtis Keim’s book Mistaking Africa, many of which are based on biased and incorrect accounts and are extremely offensive. Three important myths are that Africa is a land of cannibals, it is backward and very uncivilized, and that it is one country where everyone and the climate are the same all over. These will be explained, refuted, and the detriment to the people of Africa will be discussed.

African food spread to the United States because of the slave trade. Fufu, which is very popular in all of Africa, is recognized as a form of cornmeal in America. It was actually how cornmeal was brought to this country by the southern slaves, and made so popular. From fufu this country got porridge, ground millet, cassava flour which makes fritters, and other batters, flatbreads and even the every so popular in the south grits. These dishes are part of southern American culture but are all African foods according to the book South African Gourmet Food and Wine: Traditional South African Food and More.

Ingredients and recipes for cooking soul food change for varies reasons. Numerous slaves could not read or write, so the recipes were passed along orally. Additionally, soul food cooking changes from region to region dependent upon on settler impact and ingredients special to a particular region. For instance, low country soul food generally alludes to an area along South Carolina's coast. Ingredients special to South Carolina's coast are rice, crabs, oysters, shrimp, and sweet potatoes. In Louisiana, Gumbo is customarily a New Orleans Creole dish. The primary ingredient is okra, or quingombo, a native African plant. Creole food has also been impacted by the Spanish, French, Caribbean and Native Americans settlers (Rhyne, 2015).

The majority of Africans religion is Christianity or Islam. African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic religions are widespread throughout Africa. Many African’s whose religion is Islam or Christianity are involved in traditional religions. In “There Is No Exile” by Assia Djebar explains about a family whose religion is Islam and what are their traditions in beliefs and sayings.

Bananas, fish, sheep, goats, chickens, cattle, yams, millet, sorghum, and insect larvae were popular meal choices in the sub-Saharan area.

During the slaves’ trip through the middle passage, they had to abandon their old customs and hide their religious rituals as well as priceless artifacts. After arriving into the new world, they had to adapt themselves and create a new way of life in order to survive. Slaves introduced many different foods and edible plants to the colonies (“Slavery”). Before their journey to the colonies, they had gathered black-eyed peas, okra, lima, and kidney beans and brought the food with them. Traditional African dishes and techniques have been perpetrated in American food culture, most prominently deep frying, gumbo, fufu and millet bread. Also, many nursery rhymes and folklore were derived from those of Africans, some famous ones being Chicken Little and Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Furthermore, indigenous people had made drums, but due to some slave owners banning them, they were forced to use foot tapping as well as clapping, which are two motions prominently featured in today’s music culture. These achievements mentioned are only some of those notable contributions African culture made on white in the

Agriculture and food is also a unique aspect of African American culture. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, grits, and cotton, can be traced to African and African American influences. African American foods reflect creative

The majority of rural Africans customarily eat one main meal a day and this is usually the evening meal. Upon arising, coffee, tea or milk or curds may form a small light meal while some people may be content to nibble on seeds. Throughout the day snacks of fruits, seeds, or nuts may be accompanied with beverages. In some areas a midday meal of fufu/ugali and relishes may be traditionally larger than the evening meal, which in this case would then be a cereal dish alone of gruel or fufu.

‘Meal patterns’ are about the way a person takes their food made. Some people prefer to have three meals a day. However, there are many different variations. Some families eat together, but in the busy world that we live in people are eating fast food, and microwave meals.

All countries are defined by their specific religions, cultures and traditions. African culture is just one of those disposed with traditions, spirituality and music. Unfortunately, as Africans were taken from their homes to be sold in America as slaves, they were separated from the cultures that they understood and that were theirs. The Africans in America had to find ways to fit their culture into their new environment. In order to acclimate to their new country, African slaves from different countries and cultures in Africa combined their unique traditions with the Christian ideology of their masters to create their own new form of existence. Slaves were able to form their own culture with unique food, religion, and ceremonies. Slave culture was developed from Christian ideas, African traditions and devoutness, as well as the distinctive mentality that arose from slave experiences.

There was no typical meal for a colonial Americans, as the diets between a rich and a poorer citizen would have depended on what they could afford. This was also the case because of the different food sources that each of the colonies had. The breakfast of the typical colonial American consisted of bread, cornmeal mush, milk or tea, and possibly an alcoholic beverage. The poor would eat dinner midday while the rich would have it midafternoon. Dinner may have consisted of one or two meats, pudding, cheese, pickles, vinegar, salt, roots, and vegetables. The evening meal was called “supper” and consisted of foods similar in content to breakfast. Butter, spices, sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, and alcohol were considered luxuries and were only consumed

Yams, plantains, green bananas and cassava are the essential staples in Africa. These vegetables are grown and used all over the continent, either on their own or combined with others. Cassava is an important source of dietary carbohydrates in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, with its roots providing food for over 500 million

The economy of West Africa was completely dependent on the gold and salt trade. Salt was so valuable to them that it was literally worth its weight in gold. The sub-Sahara was where gold was most abundant and though their salt supply was sufficient the consumption of salt was encouraged for trade purposes.

     Out of all of the continents, Africa is the most central. It is told that the first man was found in Africa, so with this, many feel that Africa is the birthplace of human culture. Within this continent, there are many different lifestyles, which are lived. Many blame the variety of lifestyles on western influence, but the truth is that different lifestyles began thousands of years before the west had influence on Africa. African’s