what our staple foods reveal about our character as ghanaians

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WHAT OUR STAPLE FOODS

REVEAL ABOUT OUR

CHARACTER AS

GHANAIANS

by ROLAND KWASI LARBI OFORI

About the author:

Brands Expert. Business Strategist. Blogger/Writer. Engineer .I am made of passion. I love

Jesus and His word.


Email: [email protected]

Phone: +233544335742

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INTRODUCTION

There is definitely some truth in the old adage “you are what you eat”. As Ghanaians

we love and are proud of our food. Talk about Ghanaian foods and the following

staple foods easily come to mind:

Fufu

Banku

Kenkey

Jollof

Gari and beans

Waakye

Akple and fetri detsi

It is interesting to know that the kind of foods we enjoy as Ghanaians speak

volumes about our character and who we are. Find some of the interesting

Ghanaian traits we can easily link to our staple foods


GHANAIANS A RE PATIENT

Fufu indicates that we are patient as Ghanaians, Fufu preparation requires a lot of

time and effort, from peeling of the cassava and plantain, washing and boiling.

Pounding and mixing it together until it becomes that fine smooth fluff is no joke! You

would have been schooled in the 12 pillars of patience by the time you are done with

preparing Fufu.


GHANAIANS GLORIFY EFFORT vs. RESULTS

Preparing Banku, Fufu and Kenkey requires a lot of effort and hard work. It demand a

lot of physical stamina

Oh don’t we love glorifying our efforts as Ghanaians? We normally regard the person

who puts in more time, energy into his work as better than the one who finds smarter

ways to accomplish same.

An illustration is the person is two people giving the task of felling a tree. One person

uses an axe and after a lot of sweat, bruised hands and waist pains, he manages to

fell two trees. The other person decided to hire a chain saw and manages to fall 15

trees within the same period. The elders of the town felt the guy who used the axe

was hardworking than the guy who used the chain saw.

We believe in sweating, physical pain and manual work vs. critical thinking and easier

and more effective way of doing things! as to whether it is the right thing to do, the

evidence is all around us.


GHANAIANS ARE RESILIENT

Preparing staple foods like Banku, Fufu, and Kenkey easily exposes you to a lot of

hazards including open fire, hot liquids, damage to bodily parts etc., but that won’t

deter the average Ghanaian from seeking the object of their desire.


GHANAIANS ARE VERY SLOW TO CHANGE

Ghanaians are not the quickest when it comes to adapting innovation and change. You

will normally hear this cliché in any organization you find yourself” As for this place,

this is how we normally do it oo” the MBAs (Mebaa ha akye) find pride in revving in

the pool of sameness for decades.

Despite the hazards associated with preparing our staple foods, we still haven’t seen

the need to find innovative ways to make preparation of foods like Fufu easier and

safer. I know that majority of Ghanaians still don’t find any joy with the powdered


Fufu on sale in the supermarkets. They claim it does not feel and taste like the

original.

GHANAIANS LOVE DIVERSITY

Jollof is a pleasant combination of rice, stew and spices. A diversity of beautiful

delicacies merged into one cuisine. This colorful food demonstrates our diversity and


creativity as a people. There is nothing like Jollof as much as there is nothing like a

Ghanaian. We just rock!

GHANAIANS ARE VERY TOLERANT

Look at “red red” the juicy combination of beans, ripe plantain, Gari, and palm oil.

Waakye is also a combination of rice, beans, leaves ,etc. etc.These strange bed

fellows find harmony to produce a delectable staple food which is much loved by all

Ghanaians. Popularly known as the friend of students, manual workers etc, “red red”

and waakye demonstrates that our tolerance as Ghanaians will continue to make us an

attractive destination for investment and tourism.

https://rolandoforispeaks.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/what-our-staple-foods-say-about-we-ghanaians/waakye/

https://rolandoforispeaks.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/what-our-staple-foods-say-about-we-ghanaians/gari-and-beans/


GHANAIANS ARE FRIENDLY AND EASY GOING

Have you ever tried akple and fetri detsi? The proud staple food of the Voltarians? You will realize how smooth and effortless it takes to eat this food because of the okro. If you don't take time you will easily over eat. This food depicts how Ghanaians are


friendly, easy going and easy to get along with. If you doubt me, travel to the neighboring countries surrounding Ghana and you will see the difference

There is so much we can learn from what surrounds us. You just have to look harder.

I am Proud to be Ghanaian.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

From the desk of ROL

what our staple foods reveal about our character as ghanaians

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