Breakfast in... Africa

Although breakfast in Africa varies by region, fruit plays significant part in an African breakfast, and meals in general. Neighboring cultures exude a great influence in Northern Africa while South African breakfasts have become defined by European and American settlers.

• Ghana. The typical breakfast includes omelets; a very sweet and dense bread known as sugar bread; and tea. Porridge is occasionally eaten at home, while many people purchase their breakfasts from street vendors. A porridge called Tom Brown (a light brown porridge made from roasted maize flour) is also eaten for breakfast.

• Senegal. Breakfast typically includes freeze-dried coffee, typically Nescafé, with dried milk and abundant sugar, accompanied by baguette with various spreads: Chocoleca, aNutella equivalent made from peanuts; butter; or processed mild cheese. Fresh fruit, including mangoes and bananas, are often also part of a simple breakfast.

• Uganda. Breakfasts vary by region. People often have a cup of tea with a variety of either warm or cold foods. In central Uganda, tea is prepared with milk and ginger, and it is served with a warm meal known locally as katogo. This is a combination of green cooking bananas (matooke) mixed either in a stew from beef or in sauce from vegetables such as beans. In some parts of northern Uganda, breakfast would consist of tea and boiled cassava

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and hosts over 25o different ethnic groups, with related varieties of cusines.

With the south western Yoruba people one of the most common breakfasts is Ògì— a porridge made from corn, usually served with evaporated milk. Ògì is eaten with Acarajé or Moi moi. Both are made from ground bean paste; akara is fried in oil, and moi moi is wrapped in leaves or foil and then steamed. Ògì can also be steamed in leaves to harden it and eaten with akara or moi moi for breakfast.

English tea or malta is served as a breakfast drink. Another popular option in southwest Nigeria is garri, which is eaten like a cereal. Garri, known in Brazil as farofa, is made from the root of cassava. For breakfast, it is soaked in water and sweetened with sugar.

In contemporary times, a local meal called waakye (rice cooked in beans) is very common. People prefer to buy waakye from street vendors just as they do other small meals. It is normally eaten before work begins in offices.