Towards Mechanisation of Fufu Pounding

Abstract

The paper presents an overview of the various approaches to the pounding of Fufu; a common West African meal. In doing so, it describes the indigenous approach to Fufu pounding and highlights the drawbacks of this method particularly its physical and health hazards, namely, lack of safety to operators and proneness to atmospheric contamination. Past attempt by Ghanaians inventors to produce mechanical devices as alternatives to the indigenous approach are also examined. It is pointed out that the mechanical devices have not been fully successful in producing Fufu in the right plasticity and consistency as desired by Ghanaians. These machines have failed because they are incapable of sufficiently pulverising the foodstuff due to their inherent difficulties of sustaining the required power input. For best results, the boiled carbohydrate must be pulverised into a wet powdery form before binding itself into Fufu.