In his 9th address to the nation on measures taken by the country to fight the COVID-19 disease, President Akufo-Addo admonished Ghanaians to pay much attention to living a healthy life by eating nutritious foods that will boost our immune system.
One of the food sources mentioned is what we know popularly as Dawadawa in our local parlance.
Let’s have a look at why our president will recommend dawadawa for us.
The African Locust Beans Plant (Parkia biglobosa) has a variety of uses with respect to its parts. The bark, leave, pulp and seeds are useful to many in diverse ways. It is the seeds produced from the plant that gives us the popular dawadawa we are going to talk about today.
So there’s a tree that produces the pulp and the seeds from it (locust beans) are fused to produce what we call dawadawa.
Related articles
They (the seeds) are intentionally fermented to get the slightly sticky and pungent smelling dawadawa which serves a wide range of purposes.
Read Also: Weekly wrap on Accra This Week
The fermentation of dawadawa has been traced back to the 14th century, and today Dawadawa is still prepared by individual families, found at local markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
To prepare this spice, the seeds are removed from the pulp and boiled, covered in ash and pounded, dried in the sun, and then sent through another cleansing process by hand where they are cooked again to produce a sticky fermented mixture.
Nutritional Values
African locust bean tree seeds which is mostly grown in the northern parts of Ghana is a good source of protein (30 percent) and fat (20 percent), with 15 percent starch, 12 percent sugar, and 12 percent fibre. The pulp that surrounds the seed is made up of 60 percent sugar and is also high in Vitamin C.
Uses
Dawadawa is popularly known to be a seasoning. Every stew or soup can basically be seasoned with dawadawa. It is also used as a seasoning for Jollof and other delicacies enjoyed in the country.
Read Also: 12 ways to manage coronavirus anxiety
It also serves, medicinal purposes as it is used to heal wounds, reduce toothaches and earaches, and act as a mouthwash. Roasted seed is grinded into powder and consumed as a tea for its health benefits
Although very useful and has a lot of people engaged in the business of processing dawadawa, a survey by Feed The Future Initiative under the auspices of the US AID in 2018 revealed that revenue gained was very low with about 59% of processors running at a loss. This production cost include cost of seed, firewood, transportation and time spent in collection and processing.
The report however adds this is as a result of the production being made “for solely household consumption”. Increased demand for the product has also had a positive impact on the business which has hopes for a brighter income in future should the cultivation and processing be given much attention.
Dawadawa is very easy to come by in any of the markets in Accra. Get to Agbogbloshie, Nima, Maamobi, Madina, Kaneshie or the Central Business District and you are sure to get one for your meal or other uses at a very affordable cost.
