Snack School

Snack School exists to give African snacks the context they deserve, breaking down the ingredients, methods, and stories behind staples rarely explained outside the places they come from.

Ingredient Glossary

Baobab Fruit

The baobab’s gourd-like fruit has a hard shell and a naturally dry, tangy pulp that’s often used as a flavouring or ground into powder.
(a.k.a Ubuyu)

Baobab Fruit

Baobab Powder

(from Baobab seeds)
A naturally tangy powder made from dried baobab fruit pulp, known for its bright, citrus-like flavour and fine texture.

Baobab Seeds

Hard seeds found inside the baobab fruit, naturally surrounded by the fruit’s dry, tangy pulp.

Baobab Tree

A group of iconic, thick trunked trees native to Africa, Madagascar and Australia, famous for storing water in their trunks and producing a nutrient-rich fruit.
(a.k.a Adansonia)

Cane Sugar

Made by extracting and crystallising the juice of sugarcane, a tall tropical grass. It is less refined than typical white sugar and often retains more of the cane’s natural flavour.

Cardamom

A highly aromatic spice from the ginger family, sold as pods or seeds, with a warm fragrance that’s citrusy, floral, and slightly peppery.

Cayenne Pepper

A hot chilli pepper commonly dried and ground into a bright red powder, known for its sharp heat caused by the compound capsaicin.

Fruit Cordial

A concentrated fruit syrup traditionally diluted with water to make a sweet drink, often flavoured with bold fruit blends. A familiar example is the brand Vim**

Fruit Cordial

Mango

A tropical fruit from a large evergreen tree, loved for its intensely sweet aroma and soft, juicy flesh when ripe.

Tamarind

A tropical tree that produces brown pods filled with a sticky pulp known for its naturally sweet-sour, sharply tangy flavour.

Tamarind

The best snacks rarely come from shelves.

Woman selling roasted plantains at an outdoor market. Image by: Ben Iwara
Male carrying a large bowl on their head with filled with individually packed bags of popcorn. Image by: Random Institute

The Context

The traditions, moments, and everyday life behind the snacks.

Go Slow/Traffic

When traffic grinds to a halt and the road briefly becomes a marketplace. Vendors move between cars selling drinks, fruit, and quick snacks to drivers going nowhere.

aka: Jam

Minibus Taxi/Matatu/Danfo

Shared minibuses that move people through busy cities all day long. They follow loose routes, stop when flagged, and rarely leave without every seat filled.

aka: TroTro, Combi, Gbaka

Okada/Boda Boda

The fastest way through city traffic on two wheels. Equal parts taxi and thrill ride, they weave through jams like they know shortcuts the roads forgot.

 

aka: Moto, Zémidjans, Phen Phen

Open Market/Marikiti

Bustling outdoor markets where traders sell fresh produce, spices, and everyday goods. Bargaining is common, and the aisles are usually filled with movement, conversation, and the smell of food cooking nearby.

Stage/Junction/Carrefour

Informal transport pickup points that quickly turn into neighbourhood hubs. Vendors gather, passengers wait, and the city moves around them.

aka: Taxi Rank

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Ready to Try Them?

You’ve learned the ingredients.
You know the context.
Now taste the classics.

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Kula54 Mabuyu & Achari snack packages with a transparent background.