The Western Region can boast of numerous resources and a vast area of land with great vegetation, notable among these being gold, crude oil, manganese and timber.
The region is also known for the production of cocoa, rubber, coconut and palm oil and has the highest rainfall pattern in Ghana with very fertile land. Hence it is not surprising that the predominant occupation of the residents is farming.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture says about 58 per cent of the region’s population is into crop farming, fishing and animal husbandry. Some of the food crops produced are maize, cassava, plantain, and cocoyam.
With the rich culture, the residents have numerous ways of turning these food crops into amazing cuisines that are enjoyed not only by the indigenes but also by people from different parts of the country and the diaspora.
The Ahantas, Nzemas, Wassas and Fantes all have amazing ways of putting maize to a different use.
The Ahantas’ delicacy; Fomfom, made from fermented corn dough, is becoming difficult to come by these days. This food is greatly enjoyed by the Nzemas as well as the Fantes along the coast. Some foreigners do enjoy the food too, mostly tourists, who fall in love with it when they taste it for the first time.
The preparation of Fomfom is somewhat tedious. This is because the corn is pared and soaked in water for two days to allow fermentation before it is milled.
Part of the fermented dough is moulded into balls and steamed for close to 30 minutes. The steamed dough is later mixed thoroughly with a little uncooked dough.
The dough is moulded into balls again but with holes inside them and steamed for 10 minutes. It is then pounded to make it soft and moulded into cylindrical shapes and wrapped with banana leaves, which are slightly passed through fire to soften
them.
It is mostly served with hot chili sauce, stews made with red oil accompanied by either fried fish, shrimps or octopus, or salted fish, and sometimes eaten with palm nut soup.
The preparation process is similar to that of kenkey but with the fomfom, the outer layer of the maize is removed before milling.
“Fomfom’s preparation is somehow similar to that of ‘Nsiho dokon’ (a type of kenkey) but for the latter, it is not pounded,” Mamme Esi Nketsiaba, a vendor of the delicacy, said.
She said the preparation of Fomfom is unique and therefore required tactics to make it come out with the right texture and taste adding that the name was given to it due to its preparation process.
“If you overcook it, it affects the end product,” she added.
Madam Adwoba Yalley, who works with the fomfom seller, said due to the affordable price and satiating nature of the food, it has become the favorite of many.
“Were it not for the hike in prices of maize, one could have purchased fomfom for GHC1.00,” she said.
“Currently, it goes for GH 2.00 and one can purchase fish, shrimps or octopus for GHC 5.00 and there you go!”
Fomfom contains carbohydrates that become glucose, which the body converts into energy to improve physical activity.
Anytime you visit any of the tourist sites in the Western Region, make sure to find yourself a good local fomfom joint and taste the lovely cuisine. You will be happy you did.