Foods

We have had a variety of foods while here, of which only a couple are straight up African. A couple pictures which have been previously posted are the Sugar Cane and Ramen Noodles with fruit.

At the market we came across energy milk. I never thought I would see that.

We have had fried yams quite a few times. Their yams here are VERY different than back in the states. When they are sold they look like giant logs.

The consistency is more like that of a potato and they are white as such. I have eaten them and even somewhat enjoyed them. I am quite proud of myself for not only eating something new, but eating something that is like a potato. We eat them with a tomato topping which makes ALL the difference in the world. As you can also see, we get to eat a lot of fresh bananas too!

One of our favorite dishes has been what they call “red red.” It is fried plantains and beans. Normally I do not like beans but these have a really good flavor. The plantains are similar to bananas but have a different flavor. We all want to learn how to make this so we can make it for everyone in the states.

We love all the fresh fruit we get to eat: pineapple, mango, and bananas, and avocados (is that a fruit?) are the most common. The avocados are HUGE here. There are some mediums sized ones.

We also get fresh eggs quite often and have bread with almost every meal.

We drink water from these 16 ounce packages called sachets. They cost about 5 cents each (or 3 for 10). I personally have consistently been drinking about 1 1/2 gallons a day because it is so hot. I hardly use the bathroom because I am sweating most of it out.

The first restaurant we ate at was in Koforidua (another post dedicated to this trip is to come). We ate breakfast at Linda Dor. The sandwiches were interesting but not too bad.

We have also eaten what they call doughnuts, but are more like a really thick scone which is not at all sweet. As Chloee puts it “It is a doughnut hole on steroids.” In this picture of them you can also see that some people here wear socks and flip flops. I am sure Clover will love that! At least the socks are not white…right?

There are two main staple food items Ghanaians eat: Fufu and Banku. We have yet to try Fufu but we had our first experience with Banku in Koforidua at a local joint. I am at a loss of words when trying to describe it. Some descriptions include “It is unreal,” It is like rotten playdough,” “UUUughhhh,” and “It was so….ooohhh…I don’t even know.” We all wanted to like it SO bad. At first it was not too bad actually, but as we went on to more than one bite, reality sunk in. See below for a better understanding.

		Banku VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This was one of the most popular places in Koforidua. The bowls only cost 50 Gp which is about 25 cents. As you can see from our friend Joseph, Africans inhale this like it is manna from heaven.

We definitely have a lot more to try and will keep you all updated, especially all that is new and interesting. I am going to definitely try Fufu and other than fish I am pretty open to try most things. I know this is rare but why not!? I am committed to immersing myself in the culture, and what better way than through food?