Which Palm Nut Fruit /Palm Nut Paste Should I Use for Cooking Mbanga/Banga Soup?
Knowing the different types of palm nut fruit and palm nut paste when cooking Mbanga soup
is essential to achieving the taste and the flavor that you crave for.
Using Canned Palm Nut Paste
Living in a country like the United States where it’s hard to find fresh palm nut fruit for cooking traditional dishes, we have no option but to use what’s available. That is canned palm nut paste. Even with this, you can agree that the availability of different brands and product varieties makes it harder to know which one to select when shopping for palm nut paste at the grocery store. After cooking with the available varieties of palm nut paste, I finally settled with the plain one with no added spices and seasonings. The reasons are, first, traditional Mbanga soup recipe calls for the use of palm nut juice extracted from fresh palm nut fruit. A plain palm nut paste allows me to stay closer to authentic traditional recipes for the conservation and preservation of Cameroonian traditional cuisines. Secondly, a plain palm nut paste allows me to control the amount of indigenous and fresh spices that adds a unique aroma to the soup, so it does not become overpowering to the taste buds.
Dissolving palm nut paste with hot water
Using Fresh Palm Nut Fruit
There are three types of palm nut fruit
The Dura
The Dura is the female plant that is characterized by having a large seed with a small fleshy membrane. It is commonly referred to as “Country Mbanga” by the Bakweri ethnic group in Cameroon and it is the ideal palm nut fruit used in cooking Banga/Mbanga Soup.
The Pisifera
The Pisifera is the male plant that is characterized by having a very small seed with a large fleshy membrane. What we say in Cameroon pidgin “that mbanga deep for inside” or “that mbanga no get seed” or “Mpondo mbanga”. The large fleshy membrane of the Pisifera produces more juice than the dura. Depending on the geographic region in which it is grown, the dura is used for oil production.
The Tenera
The Tenera is the hybrid/cross (the pikin) of the Dura and the Pisifera. It is characterized by having a thin seed shell and a medium fleshy fiber membrane (plenty Kutcha Mbanga). The Tenera is the supreme palm nut fruit used for oil production around the world. It produces the highest yield of palm oil with the best quality (what we say in Cameroon grade 1) when compared to the Dura and the Tenera. The Tenera is what is used in producing the Cameroonian CDC palm oil. A brand that continues to play a key role in the preservation and conservation of the intangible cultural heritage of Cameroonian cuisine.
How to Extract Palm Nut Juice from Palmnut Fruit
Now that you have been empowered with this culinary knowledge, check out my website for our Kwacoco and Mbanga Soup recipe. Recreate the recipe and let us know how it turned out. As always, It is my pleasure to cook along with you.
Kwacoco And Banga Soup Recipe
