Abena Foli shares how she brought the flavors of West Africa’s most iconic dish to life.
Slowly but surely , the Western Earth is finally beginning to get better acquainted with thecuisines of West Africa . However , there is one dish that has surpassed all others in condition of popularity and world-wide realisation : jollof rice . This spicy pepper- and love apple - infused rice dish is a fixture in countries like Ghana , Nigeria , Senegal , Cameroon , Senegal , and Gambia .
In solemnisation of the staple peach , Poks Spices — an award - winning , Texas - based stigma of West African spices and seasonings — has join forces with the team at NYC spice importerBurlap & Barrelto make their newJollof Rice Blend . The mission of the spice portmanteau is to convey the look of West Africa to kitchen console throughout the humankind .
Poks beginner Abena Foli has food and husbandry in her blood . Her Padre has been a farmer in Ghana for over 40 yr , just as his father was before him , and his grandfather before that .
Jollof rice|Photo courtesy of Poks Spices
“ Seeing how labor intensive and really underappreciated farming was in Ghana , I did n’t desire to have anything to do with agriculture , ” she says . Instead , she decided to pursue food scientific discipline and finally ended up transition to food labeling regulation , where she realize that West African solid food and ingredients were not part of the conversation .
“ There was no mention of West Africa when we blab about how to source ingredient that could be novel to the U.S. I wanted to prepare that , ” Foli explains . “ I did n’t want to sound off about the problem anymore . I want to leverage the expertness that I had to solve the problem . ”
Throughout her time play in food , Foli recognized that one of the best way to introduce consumers to a new cuisine is often through seasonings and spices . In the summer of 2016 , she establish Poks Spices and released the make ’s first twoWest African seasoning blending , suck on the flavors of what is often referred to as the Holy Trinity of West African cooking : chili Piper nigrum , ginger , and Allium like onion orgarlic .
Last class , Foli decided to reach out to Burlap & Barrel carbon monoxide - founder Ethan Frisch , not knowing that Frisch had in reality placed an order with Poks just workweek before she emailed him . After Foli was a guest on the podcastWhy Food?—co - host by Frisch andbaker Vallery Lomas — the two begin thinking about how to collaborate further .
As they mull over dissimilar approaches to a collaboration , WGSN , a conduct trend forecasting caller , announcedthat jollof rice was one of itsflavor trend forecastsfor 2022 and beyond . This was a light bulb bit . So they decide that their next move would be a season blend that captured the spirit of jollof rice in a single jar .
“ There was no mention of West Africa when we talked about how to source ingredients that could be refreshing to the U.S. I wanted to fix that . ”
“ I had to put on my food scientist hat again , ” Foli pronounce . roll in the hay the cultural significance of jollof rice , she want to focalise on what tarradiddle she was tell through the blending of seasonings . While jollof rice is popular throughout West Africa , there are variations in preparation count on where you go . “ mostly , it ’s accept in African culinary history , and history about the transatlantic phylogeny of nutrient from West Africa to the Americas , that jollof rice started with the Wolof federation of tribes of the Senegambia region , which is forward-looking - day Gambia . ”
However , thanks to West Africans all around the diaspora , the playful banter screw as “ jollof wars , ” a argumentation about which country in West Africa is base to the best style of jollof , has made it abundantly unmortgaged that is no one funny way of cooking jollof rice .
Foli began by analyze jollof flavour profiles from Senegal in the west spanning eastwards all the way to Nigeria . In some neighborhood , jollof has a more herbaceous flavor profile , other neighborhood use bell pepper and tomatoes , whereas some apply only tomato plant . She also had to keep in mind who her consumers would be in the United States .
“ The consumer demographic that Burlap & Barrel has is predominantly white and American , ” says Foli , who had to poise various different spice tolerances without raising supercilium from other West Africans . “ My people will come for me , ” she adds jokingly .
Eventually , after much testing and development , Foli arrived at a portmanteau that capture the core of jollof Elmer Rice while compensate court to preparation styles from across West Africa . The blend is a mixture of unfermented paprika to replicate the flavor of red bell peppers typical of Nigeria and Cameroon , Ghanaian and Ivorian - style tomato pulverization , herbs like bay leaves and thyme to reflect Senegal and Gambia , and , of course , the holy ternary .
While the portmanteau is splendid for seasoning jollof rice , Foli require customer to have it away that the options are really unbounded .
“ We ’ve had people use it for shrimp or for chicken — we even made a dip recipe ! ” she says . “ It truly lends itself to so many different use . ”
