4 Food Preservation Methods For African Cuisine
For hundreds of years, food on the African continent has been preserved without the benefit of refrigeration. How? This article describes four methods of food preservation that are common in Africa.
1. Dry in the sun
For many African peoples, the sun is an important factor in preserving food. Immediately after harvesting, grains such as millet, corn, sorghum, green gram, and wheat, as well as legumes such as chickpeas and peas are hung out in the sun to dry. Completely dry from moisture, these foodstuffs can last a very long time - sometimes years - if stored in a cool, dry place and protected from pests.
Most households have a granary built high above the ground, where food is stored. Besides drying, wood ash is also commonly used on legumes such as beans and peas to prevent insect infestation. Ashes can easily be washed before cooking.
Various types of vegetables, tubers and fish are also successfully preserved in this way. Roots such as cassava or sweet potato may need to be sliced thinly for easy drying.
2. Smoking
Smoking is another important method of preserving food. In the past, after a hunt, hunters smoked the meat in large quantities to make it easier to transport it home, as well as to preserve it. Smoked game meat is common, while domestic animals are often consumed fresh after slaughter.
Smoking fish is still a very important method of preserving fish, used across continents.
3. Salting
Salt is often rubbed on foodstuffs to preserve them, along with sun-drying and smoking. Many fishermen generously salt fish before drying or smoking it, to further increase the chances of it not going bad. Salting is also applied to certain vegetables during the sun drying process.
4. Using fat
Some communities use fat to preserve food. These are mainly communities that herd animals, such as nomadic communities. For example, among the Somalis, when a camel is slaughtered, part of the meat is cooked with a large amount of fat and salt. It is then stored for future use. The meat remains fit for human consumption due to the large amounts of cooked and stored fat, as well as the salt.
Many parts of Africa still do not have the necessary electrical infrastructure for sustainable cooling. Traditional food preservation methods continue to play an important role in keeping food edible for millions of people.
These methods, such as sun drying, smoking, salting, and using fat, are not only time-tested - they are also inexpensive and sustainable without requiring too much energy.
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