What is gari?

This blog will, in eight(8) articles, talk into detail about a staple food found in certain parts of the world, especially western Africa, called gari and its presence in Ghana

 

What is gari?

Gari

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Cassava, the source of gari

Popular in Ghana and in neighboring countries in Western Africa as Gari (Garri, Gali), gari is made from the tubers of the cassava plant. It is a starchy carbohydrate, used in the same manner as Rice and Couscous (though it require no additional cooking when eaten, it only needs to be moistened).It is also called garri or gali in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.Gari is also popular in South America, where it is called manioc flour (Farinha de manioca) BB

Of late, many people in and out of Africa gari in packaged and commercially manufactured forms and sold in shops and market

The source of gari, Cassava (pronounced kuh-sah-vuh), is a root tuber which originated from South America, that is,Cassava was introduced into Africa by Portuguese traders from Brazil during the pre-colonial times in the 16th century. Since then, cassava and maize have replaced traditional African crops as the continent's most important staple food crops primarily grown in Africa . Cassava is sometimes described as the 'bread of the tropics' 

Cassava is 6-12 inches long and 2-3 inches wide and is covered with a tough, brown skin. It is a food crop available all-year round. The flesh is white and crispy. There are two main types of cassava; bitter and sweet. Bitter cassava is very poisonous unless cooked very well. Cassava is used in the making of cassareep-a bittersweet condiment used in West Indian cooking. Grated, dried cassava is called cassava meal. Cassava is also known as soap root from it's historical use as a foaming cleanser. It is a popular Sierra Leonian and Nigerian food item.

 In the Ghanaian case, cassava provides almost half of the domestic food item among its citizens anywhere on earth. Some of these foodstuffs gotten from cassava use among Ghanaians include fufu (cooked and pounded cassava), cassava dough (locally called bankye moree) which among other things is used for cooking banku and making starch, Cassava leaves are used in the making of stew etc. Gari is one of the most important and yet the most ignored and the most looked- down- upon food item, especially in Ghana, that is obtained from cassava.

Gari constitutes a daily meal to some 150 million people worldwide.It is a popular West African food. It could be compared to what potato flour is to the Westerners. I am even more versatile than that; I can be eaten as a snack in cold water on a very hot day, or cooked in hot water to make a dough-like meal called eba or gari to eat any of the African vegetable soups. 

The subsequent 7 (seven) articles will delve into, and will focus on, the preparation, production, uses and benefits among other things of Gari in Ghana