Pictures Of African Food Just Does Not Do Justice to The Taste

The basis of African cuisine features a combination of traditional fruits and vegetables, exotic meats and fish that are found on the continent. Added to this, their culinary flare is due to a marinade of cultures, colonies, trade routes, and history. As extensive as Africa is, so too it is difficult to categorize a sweeping term for African Food. The most difficult thing to do when it comes to African Food is to try to categorize it.

For example one would find that the culinary experience of Kenya is much different from dining at the French and British influenced restaurants of Johannesburg, or the Portuguese inspired spices of Angola and Mozambique and perhaps even the coconut and fish stews of Nairobi. Unbelievably, all these are part of African cuisine and can be accredited to Africa's rich history. In reality the food of Africa is known by its region.

Many internationally acclaimed photographers have tried repeatedly to capture the essence of African food by camera, yet the images of these varied platters can never lend justice to the actual taste of the food. Unless you have sampled these marvelous dishes, you will certainly not be privy to just how excellent they really are. Photographers attend culinary shows in an attempt to illustrate to the world the diversity of African dishes, however pictures cannot capture the flavor of the food.

Many photographers sell to the world images of women who sell food from a container perched atop their heads. Usually this type of food requires extensive preparation, and include fried yams, cassava and sweet potato. Truthfully these images are certainly not as pleasant as the taste of these starches melting in the customer's mouth! Although the images of women selling rice and stew from a basin perched on their heads lend a lot of insight into the culture of Africa, unless one savors these sumptuous dishes and treats one can only wonder!

When consumers of African food are asked to describe the taste of their meals, they often find it a difficult task. The most distinguishing factor of native African meals is the use of starch as a focus; accompanied by a stew containing meat or vegetables, or both as many picture albums would reflect. Steamed greens, mixtures of hot spices with root vegetables, stew with and without meat, particularly chicken, all are African inspired pots. An added flavor that is featured heavily in many African dishes is peanut, this rich and savory flavor certainly can never be captured on film!

Largely due to the media explosion, one would find that today volumes of African plant extracts are being imported into Europe as around all of the world. In fact the demand for more knowledge on African cuisine has grown so significant that there is still a scarcity of Recipe books and cook shows on the networks. Try as they might, the pictures still cannot depict the well rounded women selling from rough-hewn sheds perfectly fried yams slathered with a fiery sauce of pulverized Scotch bonnet peppers and garlic.