How do you make fufu?

Fufu is made from cassava, the process to making fufu is rather vigorous but I will try explaining in few words

Nigeria as we all know is the worlds largest producer of cassava. Cassava is a Woody shrub of the spurge family cultivated annually or perennially. Fufu is a local Nigerian food made from sieved fermented cassava. 
Here cassava tubers are pilled and soaked in water for quick fermentation after which is sieved. The semi liquid sieved content is put on the fire and it’s continually turned with a big Turner until it takes form and ready to serve, that is how to make fufu in Nigeria

Fufu can be eaten with assorted soups such as vegetable soup, egusi soup, edikaigong, bitter leaf soup,etc .It is an alternative to eba (Garri) in some instances. Most people dislike fufu as it has an offensive smell that will clique to you after eating and it’s usually very heavy in the stomach and tend to make one feel sleepy. All the same, a well prepared fufu is smooth and easy to swallow no wonder it is nicked named swallow.

This article is about how to make fufu, if you have just cassava (which is the integral crop needed), you should get a glass of juice, cross your legs are follow this article to the last full stop… lol.
But if you have sun-dried raw version (powdered fufu), you can have edible fufu in just 10 minutes.
This is the stages involved – First, Cassava to raw wet fufu.

[h3]What is fufu?[/h3]

Fufu is one of the popular swallows in Nigeria, “swallow” is a brand name for foods that are not chewed before swallowing in Nigeria. We have lots of swallows like eba, semo, pounded yam, fufu and tuwo shinkafa. Eba is the most popular swallow in Nigeria and probably followed by fufu.
Fufu is a little more expensive so it is reserved only for folks that could afford it.
Plus it takes a little time to prepare, unlike eba that could be made in just few minutes, fufu takes about 10-50 minutes depending on the state of your raw fufu.

[h3]How do you make fufu[/h3]

Fufu is made from cassava, you start by pilling the cassava then soak in water for 3-4 days, sift to remove chaff.
You get the raw-wet fufu. which can then be cooked and pounded to obtain the edible fufu.
Also, the raw-wet fufu could be sun-dried and stored in an air tight container. This is the best way to preserve fufu (by drying it) to obtian the powdered fufu.
There are two ways to cook fufu.
1. Dissolve in water and stir over heat till it looks like the real thing. This method is applicable to raw wet fufu or powdered fufu.
2. Cook and pound, this is only applicable to the raw wet fufu.
Then serve.
That is how to make fufu in Nigeria. it can be served with anyone of the many Nigerian soups. I decided to serve fufu and oha soup tonight.

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[h3]What is the English name for fufu[/h3]

Fufu has no other name in English since it is not an English food, however, it is spelt differently by different people, you will hear names like fuufuu or fuufuu in other west African countries.

[h3]What does fufu taste like?[/h3]

Fufu is just bland, a little bit soured, a little acidic but usually your focus should be on the soup. There are lots of delicious soups that are combined with fufu to serve. Everywhere I have seen fufu, it is either combined with soup or with stew.

[h3]Where can I buy Fufu[/h3]

If you live in Nigeria, you can buy fufu in virtually every local market. In portharcourt where I live it is sold at every corner of the street. You find them cooked and wrapped in nylon, Just unwrap and serve with soup. They are made by Ikwerre women, Calabar women are also in the trade.
With time, you get to know the difference between calabar fufu and Ikwerre fufu. They are almost the same, just the preparation process is different.

[h3]Is pounded yam fufu?[/h3]

Not really, Pounded yam is just what is is, you can learn how to make pounded yam here. Fufu is completely different, however, I have seen people using the names interchangeably. They are all called “swallows”, I have written about swallows here

There are other ways of making fufu, but am going to discuss the way i know to make it.
First of all we need raw cassava to produce fufu, cassava is freshly brought from the farm, peeled, washed and soaked to get rotten (this process will take up 1week depending on when its fully fermented).
  Then after fermentation it will be mashed with bare hands or machine (manual or electrical), after that it will be turned into a big pot of water then it will be boiled. After cooking it will be brought out and pounding will start, it will be pounded until its smooth. And that is it after that fufu is ready to be served with your desired soup

Fufu is a common starchy meal that has gained great popularity amongst the Eastern and Southern parts of Nigeria. Making fufu is quite a task. It can literally sap all your energy. Without further ado, I will dive right into the crux of the matter. Pay close attention, as I take you down fufu’s Hall Of Fame. 
Step 1: Uproot The Cassava 
       Cassava is the primary ingredient in the making of fufu. After the cassava is planted and mature, the next thing you want to do is to uproot it. 
Step 2: Let the cassava “catch a nap”.
By this, I mean that the cassava should be allowed a few days (at least 3 days) before peeling it. You don’t just harvest cassava and begin peeling it that same day. 
Step 3: Peel the cassava. 
Step 4: Wash the cassava.
The reason you wash the peeled cassava is for impurities and dirt to be removed. 
Step 5: Soak the cassava 
     The washed cassava is soaked in a bowl/basin of clean water, depending on how much cassava you have on your hands. The reason why the cassava is soaked is for it to be able to soften. The duration of soaking is between five to seven days. This long period would soften the cassava. 
     Some people who prepare fufu for commercial consumption usually  shorten the period that their cassava would be soaked by washing (step 4 ) their cassava with detergent. When a cassava is washed with detergent, it reduces the soaking period to 2-3 days. Personally, I don’t think this method is really healthy in the production of fufu. 
Step 6: Sift the Cassava 
    After 5-7 days, the cassava is brought out of the soaking water and filtered. During the filtering process, the main cassava goes into a bowl while the chaff(residue) left in the filter us thrown away.
Step 7: Get Your Cassava 
     When the seiving process was going on, the cassava that was kept in a bowl still had moisture in it. So the cassava is allowed to settle down while water comes on top .
Step 8: Dry your cassava 
     The “settled” cassava is placed in a bag ,maybe rice bags and allowed to drain more water till it is dry and hard. 
Step 9: Mould your Cassava 
    A little water is added to the dried cassava and moulded into sizeable lumps. These lumps are then placed in boiling water for about 10 minutes. 
Step 10: Pound your cassava 
The “boiled cassava lumps” are brought out and pounded. This gives the Fufu a homogeneous texture and enables it to mix well. After that, the pounded lumps are placed in the boiling water and allowed to “done”.
 
Voila !  That’s your fufu right there, standing in all her glory, and ready to be consumed.