Cultural Barrier and Understanding Sauces

Before taking this course, I’ve never really thought about the food that I eat and the properties that those foods contain. A while ago in class, we were discussing staple foods and how it varies from culture to culture. Staple foods are, loosely defined, food products that are eaten regularly such that it becomes a major component of one’s diet. A type of staple food that is commonly found in a lot of cultures is sauce. For me, when I think of a sauce, maybe it’s a direst result of my acclimatization to the conglomerate American culture, I think of a sort of topping that is served with the main dish; more often than not, that “sauce” is not healthy for you.

Barbecue sauce and other condiments, though they add more flavor to otherwise bland food, are chockfull of fats, calories, and other unhealthy substances; this is the part I have a problem with in which my language and cultural barrier comes in: sauces are generally not good for you. In my Sierra Leonean culture, the same can be said about the West African culture in general, the use of “sauces” is prominent in our diets. This sauce is not the same, health wise, as the typical Western sauce. In my family, various sauces are served on top of rice; rice is the number one staple food in my family. The main ingredient in the sauces are spinach, cassava leaf, and okra to name a few; spices and vegetables are added to give more flavors to the dish. One would think that having the aforementioned key ingredients in the sauce would make it healthy. Aren’t we supposed to eat more of green leafy vegetables in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle? From the American perspective, the topping that my family adds to rice is considered a sauce, but from my cultural perspective it is more than a sauce. Sauces theoretically should be used sparingly because of their unhealthy makeup, but we, my household, consume it extensively on a daily basis, most often at least two times a day. Similar to the sauces here in the United States, it is never eaten alone and always accompanied by something; either with rice or sometimes with another grain substituent such as couscous.

The only ingredient that immediately comes to mind that can make the topping unhealthy is shrimp flavored bouillon cube. One serving of this seasoning contains an alarming 42% daily value of sodium. However, the salty cubes are used in moderation. There is a significant noticeable difference in taste for the topping that is the cornerstone of a Sierra Leonean’s diet versus the topping that is used for “businesses”, which is the Sierra Leonean term for family gatherings and parties. The party toppings fit more into the sauce category as they taste saltier and are only eaten during those types of events; therefore they are (intended to be) consumed in moderation. The more that I think about, the closest thing to the Sierra Leonean topping is a stew instead of a sauce. The toppings are known colloquially in the hybrid broken English and native language as “plasas”, also known as “palaver” sauce. The varieties of dishes are aptly named so because of the way that they are prepared. Usually a green leafy vegetable, such as the ones mentioned earlier, boiled and cooked with oil, hot chilies/peppers, onions, goat meat and or fish, some types of seasonings such as nutmeg, and Maggi (shrimp flavored bouillon cubes).

I guess that plasas is neither a sauce nor just a stew, but it is a combination of both. My attempts in trying to characterize my cultural cuisine has made me hungry and craving for rice; it is ironic that I dislike eating rice while I’m at home, but I crave it intensely when I’m away from home. Until I have the available means of transportation in getting the ingredients I need and acquiring the skills I need to cook it, calling my mother to send me home cooked food will have to suffice for now. The picture below is a generic cassava leaf plasas on rice.