Benin cuisine

Beninese cuisine is renowned for its exotic ingredients and flavorful dishes, frequently featuring fresh meals paired with a variety of sauces. Due to the high cost of meat, vegetable fats are often used as substitutes. In southern Benin, corn is a staple, typically served with peanut or tomato-based sauces and accompanied by fish, chicken, beef, pork, goat, and even bush rat. Meats are usually fried in palm or peanut oil. Other important staples in the south include rice, beans, tomatoes, couscous, and a variety of fruits, such as mandarin oranges, bananas, and avocados.

In northern Benin, yams are the primary staple and are also served with peanut or tomato-based sauces, alongside beef, pork, and cheese. Common fruits in this region include mangos and oranges. Food preparation in the north often involves frying in palm or peanut oil, smoking fish, and grinding corn into flour. Notable dishes include Wagasi cheese, Àkàrà (deep-fried black-eyed peas), Akassa (fermented corn dough), and other specialties such as Aloko (fried plantains) and Fufu (mashed yams).

Regarding beverages, Benin offers Choukoutou, a millet beer popular in the north, and Sodabi, a liquor made from palm wine. Traditional cooking methods, such as roasting chicken over an open fire and using mud stoves and pots, remain common in Beninese households.