Faculty Profile prashantha K EEE dept Sri Sairam college of Engineering
Food stuffs in ghan1
1. FOOD STUFFS IN
GHANA
TETTEH BERNICE (10340856)
FPEN 405: Engineering and Design
Food Processing Engineering Department
Faculty of Engineering Science
2. INTRODUCTION
Ghanaians since time immemorial have enjoyed and consumed food crops of various types. These
food stuffs mostly from tubers, cereal, legumes, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Most food crops are
grown in the hinterlands and transported nationwide for consumption. Others are locally originated
and others are grown from foreign seeds. Agriculture and its related occupations support 80% of
Ghana’s economy. Most food products are bought in their raw state and others processed by
fermentation, drying, canning etc.
Most food products are sold in the general markets under the exposure to all condition whether
good or bad. A survey on the food crops that are sold in Ghana resulted in the classification below;
TUBERS
Yam, Cassava, Coco yam, Potatoes,
VEGETABLES
Garden Eggs, tomatoes, celery, spinach, radishes, green pepper, sweet pepper, cabbage, lettuce,
carrots, squash, pumpkin, and collard greens etc.
FRUITS
Mango, pineapple, blackberries, dates, pear, orange, banana, plums, pawpaw, kumquats, ‘alasa*,
avocado, cocoa, dates, serendipity berry etc.
Spices
Aidan tree fruits, calabash nutmeg, Negro pepper, grains of paradise, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
There are more fruits which are indigenous to Africa especially, West Africa. Some include ‘prekese’,
‘alasa’, Negro pepper etc.
3. VEGETABLES
PICTURE
NAME
DESCRIPTION
USES
Bell pepper also
Capsicum
annuum
Is a member of the
Capsicum genus, it
is the only
Capsicum that does
not produce
capsaicin, a
lipophilic chemical
that can cause a
strong burning
sensation when it
comes in contact
with mucous
membranes.
Used in cooking
and serve as a
vegetable in
various Ghanaian
diahes. It is used
in stews, salad,
coleslaw, fried
rice etc.
Carrot, also as
Is a root vegetable,
usually orange in
colour, though
purple, red, white,
and yellow varieties
exists. It has a crisp
texture when fresh.
The most
commonly eaten
part of a carrot is
the taproot,
although the greens
are sometimes eaten
as well.
Carrots are widely
used in many
cuisines,
especially in the
preparation of
salads, drinks and
stews. Also
extracts are used
in beauty creams
and cosmetics.
The fruit of the
cucumber is
roughly cylindrical,
elongated with
tapered ends, and
may be as large as
60cm long and 10
cm in diameter.
They are usually
more than 90%
water.
Much like
tomatoes and
squash they are
often also
perceived,
prepared and
eaten as
vegetables. Can
be used in
cosmetic products
as body creams
and face wipes.
Daucus carota.
Cucumber, also
known as
Cucumis sativus
4. Squash also
known as
Cucurbita
moschata
PICTURE
Is a special type of
berry with a thick
outer wall or rind
formed from
hypanthium tissue
fused to the
exocarp; the fleshy
interior is
composed of
mesocarp and
endocarp.
Squash are
represented
frequently in Art
Moche ceramics
It is also used in
cooking. The
seeds are also
used for flour,
eaten raw or
pressed for oil.
NAME
DESCRIPTION
USES
Cabbage also
known as
Brassica
oleracea.
Cabbage heads
generally range
from 0.5 to 4 kg,
and can be green,
purple and white.
Most cabbages have
thick, alternating
leaves, with margins
that range from
wavy or lobed to
highly dissected.
Cabbage is
prepared and
consumed in
many ways.
creating dishes
such as
sauerkraut,
cabbage stew,
coleslaw and
stews.
Jute, Ademe
(Togo), Ewedu
(Nigeria),
Mulukhiyah
(Arabic) also
with scientific
name as
The leaves are
alternate, simple,
lanceolate, 5–15 cm
long, with an
acuminate tip and a
finely serrated or
lobed margin. When
boiled, the resulting
liquid is a thick,
highly mucilaginous
broth, slimy," like
cooked okra
Corchorus used
mainly in the
cuisines of
southern Asia
and Africa. Its
used for Tuo
zaafi soups and
banku soups in
conjunction
with okra.
Corchorus
olitorius.
5. Celery also as
Apium
graveolens var.
dulce
Seeds are used
in pills for
relieving pain
and also used to
reduce blood
pressure. Celery
is used in
weight-loss
diets
Spinach
Spinacia
oleracea
PICTURE
The plant grows to
1 m tall. The leaves
are pinnate to
bipinnate leaves
with rhombic
leaflets 3–6 cm long
and 2–4 cm broad.
Commonly used as
vegetable.
Spinach is a leave
which is alternate,
simple, and ovate to
triangular based,
very variable in size
from about 2–30 cm
long and 1–15 cm
broad.
Used in
cooking to
make purees,
soups, salads
etc.
NAME
DESCRIPTION
USES
kontomire (taro
leaves)
Taro leaves are
heart-shaped, bright
to deep green and
they can span over
a foot in diameter.
The underside of
the leaves have
veins that branch
out from the stem.
It is a popular
vegetable for local
sauces such as
palaver sauce and
agushi stew. It is
used for soups like
abunubunu. It is
good source of
vitamins A and C.
6. Green beans
Phaseolus
vulgaris
Green beans (which
may be other colors
as well, and are
also referred to as
string beans) have
long, edible pods
and small inner
beans.
It can be cooked
and eaten raw, or
used in stews,
soups etc. Green
beans are often
steamed, boiled,
stir-fried, or bake
in casseroles.
Radishes are round
to cylindrical with a
color ranging from
white to red. A
longer root form,
ideal for cooking,
grows up to 15 cm
(6 in) long.
Used in cooking
for soups, salad,
juices etc. in da
industry, the seed
can be pressed for
cooking oil.
Citizens of
Oaxaca, Mexico,
celebrate the
radish in a festival
called Noche de
los Rábanos
Collard greens
also known as
Brassica
oleracea. Locally
known as
“Boma”.
It does not have the
usual close-knit
core of leaves (a
"head") like
cabbage. It has an
upright stalk, often
growing up to two
feet tall. The plant
is very similar to
kale.
Used in ooking of
soups. Can replace
lettuce and used
for salads and
coleslaw.
Pepper Capsicum
The fruits,
commonly known
as "chilies" or "chili
peppers," are fiery
red or green pods
which rarely grow
to more than 4
inches in length.
Apart from its use
as season, It
decongest,
relieves tooth
ache, scares away
ants and pets
along with a few
household
substances
including
cinnamon and
vinegar.
White Radishes
Raphanus sativus
7. Tomato
PICTURES
It’s the fruit of the
plant Solanum
lycopersicum. It is
spherical, some
ranging from 2-10
cm diameter. It has
edible seed is and
soft exocarp and
mesocarp.
Used in almost
every Ghanaian
cuisine namely
soups, stews,
sauce, salads, pies
etc. used for
tomato juice.
NAME
DESCRIPTION
USES
Yam Dioscorea
alata
Yams are brown in
colour on the
outside, but the
flesh is white,
yellow or red.
Their weight
varies between 2
and 5
kilogrammes.
Cooked/fried/
baked and eaten.
Use in traditional
Chinese herbal
medicine. Used
also for
puddings, soups
etc.
Cassava also
known as
manihot
esculanta
The cassava root is
long and tapered,
with a firm,
homogeneous
flesh encased in a
detachable rind,
about 1mm thick,
rough and brown
on the outside.
Cassava roots are
very rich in starch.
Used as dishes
like fufu, eba and
tapioca. Also use
as a source of
biofuel, animal
feed and
medicine.
Coco Yam
Xanthosoma
sagitollium
It is a perennial,
tropical plant
primarily grown as
a root vegetable
for its edible
starchy corm. The
corm grows to the
size of turnip, has
a globular or
oblong shape with
brown fibrous
skin.
It is used for
fufu, puddings
and soups. In
addition, it has
very good
amounts of
potassium which
is good for
regulating blood
pressure.
8. This is a deep red
root of the beet
plant and is
spherical and
tapered at the
ends.
The usually deep
red roots of
beetroot are
eaten either
grilled, boiled, or
roasted as a
cooked
vegetable. Used
industrially as
red food
colorants to
improve tomato
paste. Beetroot
dye may also be
used in ink
Plantain
Cacalia
plantaginea
Plantains are a
starchy, unsweet
variety of banana
that are inedible
raw and must be
cooked before
eating. Most are
larger and slightly
more angular in
shape, than
‘sweet’ bananas.
They are usually
baked, fried,
boiled and eaten.
It can be used for
fritters, chips,
juice, fufu etc.
Tilapia
Oreochromis
niloticus
Tilapia have
laterally
compressed
bodies. Tilapia
have a long dorsal
fin, and a lateral
line which often
breaks towards
the end of the
dorsal fin, and
starts again two or
three rows of
scales below.
Used in soups,
stews etc. used as
a control method
of choice, for
reducing or
eliminating the
use of toxic
chemicals and
heavy metalbased algaecides.
Tilapia help
purify water .
Beet Roots
Beta vulgaris
OTHERS
Pictures
9. Cat Fish
Ictalurus
punctatus
Channel catfish
have a top-end
size of about 18–
23 kg. Most have
a cylindrical body
with a flattened
ventrum. Catfish
have no scales
and has four pairs
of barbels
(whiskers).
Used as food.
Locally dried and
added to soups. In
parts of America
it is roasted and
eaten with rice
and corn bread.
Herrings Clupea
harengus
Their size varies
between
subspecies. These
fishe have a
single dorsal fin,
which is soft,
without spines.
They have no
lateral line and
have a protruding
lower jaw.
Adult herring are
harvested for their
flesh and eggs,
and they are often
used as baitfish.
They are used in
many dishes. In
soups, stews,
sauces etc.
Crabs Pithirus
pubis
They live in all
the world's
oceans, in fresh
water, and on
land, are
generally covered
with a thick
exoskeleton and
have a single pair
of claws. Crabs
vary in size
depending on
their species,
Crabs are
prepared and
eaten as a dish in
several different
ways all over
Ghana. They are
used in okra
stews, aprapransa
etc.
10. .
Ginger
Zingiber
officinale
It is the rhizome
of the plant
Zingiber
officinale.
It is consumed as
a delicacy,
medicine, or
spice. Ginger is
often used as
landscaping
around
subtropical
homes. Ginger
also acts as a
useful food
preservative.
Sorghum
Sorghum
bicolor
These are grains
or seeds from the
sorghum plant.
The seed is
rounded and
bluntly pointed,
from 4 – 8 mm in
diameter and
varying in size,
shape and colour
with cultivar.
Some are reddish
and others
ranging from
green to pale ash.
Used for food (as
grain and in
sorghum syrup or
"sorghum
molasses"),
fodder, the
production of
alcoholic
beverages, and
biofuels
Grains of pearl
millet are about 3
to 4 mm long, and
one third the size
of sorghum. The
pearl millet grain
has great
variation, and can
be nearly white,
pale yellow,
brown, grey, slate
blue or purple.
They can be
globular, obovate
and elliptical in
shape.
Used for the
preparation of
alcoholic
beverages like
pito and burukutu.
When combined
with wheat, it can
be used for flat
breads. Used as
food, example
porridge etc.
Pearl Millet,
Pennisetum
glaucum
Used for a
popular alcoholic
drink called pito
and burukutu.
11. Pineapple
Ananas comosus
It is a cone shaped
juicy, fleshy fruit
to 30cm or more
in height, with the
stem serving as
the fibrous but
fairly succulent
core. The flesh is
a tough, waxy
rind, made up of
hexagonal units,
may be dark
green or yellow.
Used all over the
country in drinks,
juices, cakes etc.
it has an
ornamental value.
Used in folk
medicine and
serve as animal
feed (peels).
Millet Leaves,
These are grasslike leaves of the
millet plant which
has been dried. It
has a reddish
brown colour.
These are sundried leaves or
stalks of the
millet plant used
to impart a
reddish colouring
to waakye.
Palm oil
It is a yellowish
fatty oil obtained
from the crushed
nuts of an African
palm (Elaeis
guineensis)
Used in cooking.
Also, used in the
manufacture of
soaps, chocolates,
cosmetics, and
candles.
Eggs
An egg is like a
prolate spheroid It
is surrounded by a
thin, hard
shell. Inside, the
egg yolk is
suspended in the
egg white by
spiral bands
called Chalazae.
Chicken eggs are
widely used in
many types of
dishes, pastries,
stews, coleslaw
etc.
Garden eggs
The egg-shaped
Used in
fruit has a white
preparation of
flesh with a meaty stew, soups and
texture. It
12. Contains
numerous small,
soft seeds which
are edible. The
fruit is less than
3cm in diameter.
can be eaten raw
if it is peeled.
Cloves
Cloves are
brown, dried,
unopened flower
buds of Syzygium
aromaticum, an
evergreen tree in
the myrtle family
Often used in
cooking to add
flavour. Used in
preparation of
sobolo. For
aromatherapy and
relieves tooth
ache.
Tetrapleura
tetraptera , the
fruit from the
Aidan tree.
It is 25 cm long. It
is shiny, glabrous,
dark brown, 1525 cm long,5 cm
across, with 4
longitudinal, wing
like ridges ( 3cm)
broad. Two of the
wings are woody,
the other two
filled with soft,
sugary pulp, oily
and aromatic.
The fruit pulp is
rich in sugars and
may be used in
flavouring food.
Made from locust
beans, boiled and
fermented. It is
sold in balls or
patties.
Is a condiment
added to some
foods to impart a
particular flavour.
Dawadawa
(fermented
locust bean)
It is used as
perfumes and in
pomades prepared
from palm oil.
The fruit pulp is
rich in sugars and
may be used as a
food flavour.
13. Mushrooms
Mushrooms have
a round shape
with flared edges
like an
umbrella. The cap
is connected to a
stem, there are
different sizes
depending on
their variety.
Mushrooms are
used extensively
in cooking, in
many cuisines.
Can substitute
meat in vegetarian
diet.
Coconut Cocos
nucifera
It has 3 layers:
the exocarp, meso
carp, endocarp.
The exocarp and
mesocarp make
up the "husk" of
the coconut. A
full-sized coconut
weighs about
1.44 kg.
Can be used for
oil, flour and
milk. The coconut
shell may also be
ground down and
added to products
for exfoliation of
dead skin.
Garlic Alluim
Sativum
Used for
both culinary and
medicinal
purposes. It
reduces the
accumulation of
cholesterol on the
vascular walls.
Prevents
and fights Cold.
Palm fruit
Borassus
flabellifer
The fruit of the
palm tree
measures 4 to
7 inches in
diameter, has a
black and
orange-red husk,
and is borne in
clusters. They
have high amount
of fatty acids.
Cooked and used
for soups. Oils
can be extracted
for consumption,
biodiesels,
cosmetic products
and creams.
14. Alasa
A bitter fruit,
usually of
diameter 4cm. the
mesocarp is
gummy when
chewed. The
exocarp of the
seeds is very
sweet.
Eaten raw as fruit.
Grains of
paradise/
alligator pepper.
Aframomum
melegueta
Is a pungent,
peppery seeds
obtained from
ground plants.
Used as season in
food. Used in
craft beers and
gin.
Bissap
This is a specie of
the hibiscus
known as Roselle,
it is dried and
shredded.
Mostly used for
Sobolo, helps in
weight losses and
lowers blood
pressure.
Calabash
nutmeg
Monodora
myristica
the fruit of a
tropical shrub
(Monodora
myristica) has
many aromatic
seeds that are
used like
nutmegs.
This is used as a
season in foods
and has medicinal
purposes.
Agushi,
seeds of a species
of Cucurbitaceae
(which includes
gourds,
melons, pumpkins
and squashes)
Used in soups,
stews (palava
sauce)
Hibiscus
sabdariffa
Seeds of
Cucurbitaceae
15. CONCLUSION
There are a lot of food stuffs both indigenous and imported. This include fruits, varieties of tubers,
vegetables and spices. The most staple amongst these food stuffs is cassava and maize. These food
stuffs can be purchased in open markets and sometimes in supermarkets.
17. Ingram C., (2000). The Cook’s Guide to Vegetables. Hermes House pp. 64-60.
McDonough, C. M., Rooney, L. W., Serna-Saldivar, Sergio O. (2000). "The Millets". Food
Science and Technology: Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology (CRC
Press). 99 2nd Ed: 177–210.
