Our times are increasingly characterised by a taste for the new in food. Eating Italian, Indian or Chinese is already almost traditional around the world. Today, the list is growing with Mexican, Korean, and Lebanese gracing the menu in major cities. This trend finds an echo in fiction.
Posts on this blog have explored how some flavours override others in fiction. In food, as in fiction, some cuisines are slow to surface into our collective consciousnesses. And this is not because of any quality inherent in them but rather an inertia in global media and in the art of existing search engines. Thus, African cuisine is a recent and hesitant entrant in metropolitan menus worldwide. Naturally, then, a search for food in African fiction reveals less than a sprinkle of names.
Posts on this blog have explored how some flavours override others in fiction. In food, as in fiction, some cuisines are slow to surface into our collective consciousnesses. And this is not because of any quality inherent in them but rather an inertia in global media and in the art of existing search engines. Thus, African cuisine is a recent and hesitant entrant in metropolitan menus worldwide. Naturally, then, a search for food in African fiction reveals less than a sprinkle of names.
... what I found memorable about the novel was the collection of recipes it contained. Woven into the story are recipes written in the style of an incantation. I found this seemingly insignificant aspect of the novel powerfully evocative. That was when I first began thinking seriously about the place of food in African fiction.
Nnedi Okorafor often references the food that Sunny and the others consume throughout the book. Nigerian food is full of flavor and is often prepared with chili peppers and palm oil. Click here to learn more about Nigerian food. Akata Witch also offers an Leopard alternative to the popular Nigerian dish of pepper soup: Tainted pepper soup, made with peppers that grow near where magical brews are dumped out. Be careful though, if prepared incorrectly this soup will explode!
Explore the bewitching world of Akata Witch
Sadly, though I'm sure there is a lot of food fiction in Japan, for instance, given the J doramas where food plays central roles, I'm unable to bring any sushi to this table.
So we drop the globe trotting and proceed to a who donut.
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