Gari

Specifications

Stemak Limited is offering Gari; the highly popular West African food produced in Ghana.

In West Africa, there are two types; "white" and "yellow" gari produced from cassava tubers.

 

The yellow gari is prepared by frying with the addition of palm oil to give it a yellow colour; while white gari is fried without palm oil.

 

Yellow and white gari are very common all over Nigeria. A variation of white garri exists, popularly known as Ijebu-garri. This variation is produced mainly by Yorubas of Ijebu origin, in Nigeria. A great many variations exist of both white and yellow gari.

 

In Ghana, gari is judged by its taste and grain size. The sweeter types with finer grains are more valued over sour, large grain varieties. Commercial food vendors on the other hand prefer, coarser grains with high starch content as this yields more quantity when soaked in water. In addition, buyers often look out for crispier grains when trying to determine its freshness.

 

Gari can be eaten without further cooking by placing in a bowl and adding cold water; Ijebu-garri is made to have finer grains, and a pleasantly sour taste, making it very suitable for consumption in this way. Sugar or honey is then added as well as chunks of coconut, groundnuts, tigernuts and cashew nuts. Milk may also be added. Most gari, however, is cooked by adding to boiling water and stirring to make a stiff paste or porridge, which among the Igbos is known as utara, and among Yorubas as eba. Utara (or eba) is normally eaten with soups, of which several different kinds are available. Most parts of Africa where cassava is grown have an equivalent staple dish.