A FOOD TRADITION

Fon cuisine

Fon cuisine is associated especially with southern Benin, including the historic Abomey and Ouidah cultural regions, while also sharing ingredients and practices with neighboring peoples. Maize, cassava, yams, beans, okra, leafy greens, palm oil, seafood, and smoked or dried fish are central. Fermentation, pounding, steaming, simmering, and preparation of thick starches with intensely seasoned sauces are characteristic techniques. Recognizable examples include amiwo, a red maize preparation; akassa, a fermented maize starch; and sauces based on okra, tomato, ground seeds, or seafood. Fon cooking is best understood as a major southern tradition within a wider Beninese culinary continuum.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.