Preserving Proteins in Precolonial Africa
Drying meat in the background, Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Before refrigeration, how did people preserve food like fish and meats in precolonial Africa? We have an account from the John Pinkerton travel account collection of Congolese people hanging proteins such as fish on wooden racks and building fires in close proximity to dry the protein. Similarly an account describes Ibo people cleaning then marinating mullet in palm oil and hot pepper before smoke drying them over a wood fire. Another precolonial African accounts describes a Mandingo community living near a river who had the practice of pounding fish in a mortar then letting them dry in the sun in large lumps. It sold as a luxury item in markets where fish is scarce. We know that some cooks used it to season couscous.
