Cameroonian cuisine

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Maize is a staple food in Cameroon.

Cameroonian cuisine is one of the most varied in Africa due to its location on the crossroads between the north, west, and centre of the continent; added to this is the profound influence of French food, a legacy of the colonial era.

The national dish of Cameroon is ndolé, a stew consisting of fish or beef, nuts and bitter greens.^[1] Staple foods in Cameroon include cassava, yam, rice, plantain, potato, maize, beans, and millet. The French introduced French bread and Italian pasta, which are not as widely consumed, however, due to their price. The main source of protein for most inhabitants is fish, with poultry and meat being too expensive for anything other than special occasions. Bush meat, however, is commonly consumed, some of the most sought after species being the pangolin, the porcupine and the giant rat. There is also a thriving trade in such exotic bush meat species as chimpanzee and gorilla.

Influences

Given that Cameroon was colonised repeatedly, New World staples were introduced several centuries ago, as well as European cooking techniques and culture. It is also influenced by its geography, with distinct differences between its North and South regions.^[2]

Ingredients

The soil of most of the country is very fertile and a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, both domestic and imported species, are grown.

Specialties

Among Cameroonian specialties are brochettes (a kind of barbecued kebab made from either chicken, beef, or goat), sangah (a mixture of maize, cassava leaf and palmnut juice) and ndolé (a spicy stew containing bitterleaf greens, meat, shrimp, pork rind, and peanut paste). Curries, soups and fish dishes abound, as well as meats on skewers. Insects are eaten in some parts of the country 8particularly the north).^[3]

Pan-fried fish

Ndolé is the national dish of Cameroon

References

^ Brady, Emily (2008-11-05). "The Years of Living Nervously". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/thecity/07asyl.html?pagewanted=1&ref=thecity. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
^ "Cameroon". Food by Country. http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Cameroon.html#b. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
^ "Cameroonian Cuisine". Wikia. http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Cameroonian_Cuisine. Retrieved 13 May 2012.

v t e African cuisine

National cuisines	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Côte d'Ivoire Kenya Libya Madagascar Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

Ethnic and regional cuisines	Arab cuisine Jewish cuisine Mediterranean cuisine North African cuisine West African cuisine

v t e Cuisine

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Historical	Ancient Egyptian Ancient Greek Ancient Israelite Ancient Roman Andean Aztec Byzantine Early modern European Historical Chinese Historical Indian Mayan Medieval Ottoman Soviet

Styles	Cuisine classique Fast food Fusion Haute cuisine ‎Molecular gastronomy Nouvelle

Types of food	Confectionery Dairy products Fruit Herbs / Spices Meat Vegetable

Carbohydrate staples	Barley Bread Breadfruit Cassava Couscous Maize Millet Oat Plantain Potato Pulses Quinoa Rice Rye Sago Sweet potato Taro Teff Wheat Yam

Types of dish	Curry Dip Kebab Pasta Pizza Salad Sandwich Sauce Soup Stew

Technical	Eating utensils Food preparation utensils Techniques Weights and measures

See also	Kitchen Meal Breakfast Lunch Dinner Wikibooks:Cookbook

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Cameroonian cuisine

Influences

Ingredients

Specialties

References

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