Fresh take on African Food

Fresh take on African Food
Get to know the recipes of Africa.

Pro Tips and African Recipes

The African Gourmet has all the best quick & easy dinners for delicious meals on a busy night. Skillet suppers. Easy lunches. Everyday Meals. Easy African Desserts. From our African kitchens to yours, all the tips, advice and recipes you need to make life more delicious, from everyday dinners and desserts to special occasion African feasts.

Get to know Africa from her African food recipes

Tell Us If You Like These 101 African Food Recipes.

Tell Us If You Like These 101 African Food Recipes.

How to Use African Shea Butter



Shea butter is a multipurpose cooking and skincare butter. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. Food grade raw shea butter is edible and used in many food recipes. Shea butter has a very strong nutty taste and scent.



The nuts of shea tree can be collected and processed by crushing and grinding by hand or a machine to yield shea butter.
Shea nuts
It takes approximately 20 years for a tree to bear fruit and produce nuts, maturing on average at 45 years. Most trees will continue to produce nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.

Eight African countries produce high quantities of Shea nuts; they are in order Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Togo and Guinea. The nuts of shea tree can be collected and processed by crushing and grinding by hand or a machine to yield shea butter. Shea has long been recognized for its emollient and healing properties, ideal for soothing skin in the dry climate of the region. Reports of its use go back as far as the 14th century.

Most raw and unrefined Shea butter comes from producers in Africa who export the product for further refining. Raw shea butter is butter is shea butter which has not been filtered or molded into shapes and unrefined shea butter is filtered and sometimes molded.

How to use African Shea butter


African shea butter is a multi-purpose skincare lotion. Apply African shea butter to your scalp for deep conditioning, moisturize your skin, especially elbows, knees and the heels of your feet with African shea butter. African shea butter has been used for centuries on dry skin, and protection from harsh weather on your lips and face.
Shea Butter Mixed Nuts

Food Grade Shea Butter Recipe

Shea Butter Mixed Nuts


Ingredients
2 tablespoons food grade raw shea butter
2 cups walnuts halves
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sweet-flaked coconut
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300°. Add butter to a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan; set the pan in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan from the oven; add nuts and Worcestershire sauce to the melted butter. Gently stir until well mixed. Bake the nut mixture until it is toasted, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Mix all spices and coconut in a small bowl. Remove the nuts from the oven and sprinkle the mixture evenly with spices. Toss until well mixed. Transfer the warm nuts to a bowl and serve immediately, or let cool and store them at room temperature in an airtight container until ready to serve.

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African Food Love recipe secrets for kitchen success.

Simple Cooking Tips

Make sure your cooking work area has good lighting so you can safely see what you are cutting, seasoning and cooking.

Get comfortable with the recipe, read it all the way through. Always read and re-read your recipes before you start cooking.

Season and taste as you go. Always taste your food before seasoning.

Spices and herbs are essential to African food cooking and baking. Keep your spices away from sources of heat like the stove or lights. Herbs and spices can lose their flavor when exposed to humidity and heat.

Recipes are only a guideline so feel free to substitute items that you like.

When cooking with chili peppers, protect your hands and eyes by wearing rubber gloves. Or coat your hands in vegetable oil and wash them with soap and water immediately after handling.