SLC-S31W1-"My taste My Culture/ (Palm Oil and Boiled Yam)!"

Meal: Palm Oil and Boiled Yam

Because it represents my roots and our simple, organic way of eating, I picked boiled yam with palm oil. Though not a difficult cuisine, it has significance.

Components:

Fresh yam
Palm oil
salt
Water

Readying oneself:

First, I peeled the yam and sliced it into average thicknesses. I set it in a pot after a thorough washing. I let it bubble till the yam softened by water and a little salt.

Then I took it off the pot and served it hot. I spooned palm oil into a little bowl to have with the yam.

Reasons why this food matters

Particularly among the Yoruba people, yam is a significant crop in many areas of Nigeria. Growing and harvesting of food demands work, hence it is regarded as a sign of food security and diligence.

On the other hand, palm oil gives our meals both flavor and cultural identity as well as finds great use in our cuisine.

When it is consumed

This dish is more of a basic, everyday food, particularly in poor households or rural areas. But yam itself is also significant at holidays like the New Yam Festival, during which celebrators of the harvest congregate.

Cultural significance

Simplicity and link to the land are embodied by boiled yam with palm oil. It depicts a way of life that values hard labor, natural food, and agriculture. It shows how people can consume well without too complex things.

What it signifies

It denotes:

Because Yam farming is not simple, hard effort
Simplicity
Legacy

Well, I didn't buy the yam, it's a gift from a friend that's a farmer

This dish brings me back to mornings or afternoons when food had not to be elegant. Eaten alone or seated with family, merely yam and palm oil still satisfied.

It also makes me think of a period when life appeared less complicated and slower, when a modest lunch was sufficient.