Rumor has it that some people in the Ivory Coast can eat attieke morning, noon and night.
Fermented cassava food has become a symbol of the country of Ivory Coast, loved by all groups of West Africa. And now, the United Nations has found attieke to be one of the most important things in the region.
In December, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) recognized that attieke is in the spotlight by listing the plate as an intangible cultural heritage. The move makes the food as popular around the world as South Korean kimchi and Mexican tacos.
For Ivorian women who have prepared the dish in large quantities for sale, and have passed down the art of deep cooking for generations, attieke is a means of communication and a means of financial independence.
Pronounced “at-chie-kay”, the dish is sometimes called Ivorian couscous and has been marketed by some as a gluten-free alternative to regular couscous.
Now, with the recognition of UNESCO, its symbol can be added anew. But what are the origins of attieke, why do the Ivorians love it so much, and how does one prepare the dish?
Why did attieke become famous?
On December 5, the UNESCO team added a famous landmark to the organization's list of intangible cultural heritage on December 5 at the 19th conference on the protection of intangible heritage in Asuncion, Paraguay. This list shows values, information, or terms that belong to a region or country.
Along with the dish of the Ivory Coast, UNESCO recognized 10 other foods or drinks, including Japanese sake, rice wine; is a Caribbean cassava bread eaten by the local people.
When thinking about attieke, UNESCO saw the skills related to its production. “Knowledge and skills are passed on orally and through families… Knowledge and skills play an important role in people's lives,” it said.
Attieke's multi-day preparation methods have been passed down for generations in Ivory Coast where women often set up their own local businesses and produce in large batches.
Ramata Ly-Bakayoko, the representative of the Ivory Coast to UNESCO, said at a meeting in Paraguay that the food was based on “real forms and traditional methods that have existed for centuries” and that it was “deeply rooted” in life and culture.
Where did attieke come from and what is its cultural meaning?
Attieke is an accessible and affordable food that has become an important part of the family diet, UNESCO said. It is also served at weddings, birthdays, or other occasions, with a side of spicy pepper sauce, fried fish or fried tilapia, and chopped onions.
The food is prepared by women in the southern regions of the Ivory Coast, mainly from the Adioukrou, Avikam and Ebrie groups. In fact, the name comes from the Ebrie word for food: “adjeke”.
In recent years, production has spread throughout the country, and the demand for attieke is growing in neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Ghana and in the African diasporas across Europe and North America.
Manufacturers are increasingly exporting ready-made versions of food that can be easily prepared at home. Countries like Burkina Faso are also seeing attieke producers.
How is attieke made?
Fermented cassava plants usually take three to five days to produce from scratch.
Often, groups of women get together to cook the food in large groups and then share it and sell it in plastic bags to vendors in the market.
Magnan, a method of roasting for many days, gives attieke a different energy. Here's how the food is typically prepared (including some easy home recipes):
- First, partially boiled or pickled cassava roots are soaked for one to three days to ferment and act as yeast in the final product.
- Next, some new roots are peeled, cut, and washed. Along with the fermented roots, some heated palm oil, and some water, the mixture is crushed in a grinder. Crushing ice in a home blender can have the same effect.
- After that, the pulp is divided into plastic bags and left for 12 to 15 hours to dry.
- Then, the fermented paste is squeezed well to extract the water. Often, Ivorian women prepare the food in batches using industrial presses. For home use, putting the paste in a sieve cloth or bag, placing a flat board on top of it, and then placing heavy objects such as stones for hours can achieve the same results.
- Next, the dried pulp is filtered, usually with a 5mm sieve to remove the husks. Ivory Coast women use their hands to grind the paste so that the granules are fine.
- The dried paste is spread thinly on tarps and spread out in the sun to dry. Doing so takes about half an hour or more, depending on the weather. At home, the oven did the job.
- Again, the dried granules are now sifted and sieved to remove any fibers or other substances.
- Then, the granules are burned – instead of cooked – in traditional pots that are designed to contain hot water under the dried attieke. At home, a metal sieve covered with a cloth and placed in a pot of hot water. Cooking takes 30 to 40 minutes.
- Finally, the finished product, soft and flexible, is usually packaged in small plastic bags to be sold in markets.
What is the controversy surrounding attieke?
Many Ivorians love attieke. Some see the increase in production in neighboring countries as a threat to their country's history.
In 2019, there was outrage on Ivorian radio after Burkinabe chef and entrepreneur Florence Bassono, founder of Faso Attieke, won an award at an agricultural and meat fair in Abidjan. Many Ivorians were angry that a non-Ivorian country won the competition over local businessmen.
In December, following UNESCO's recognition of the food, local residents told a Radio France International (RFI) reporter that international recognition was important and would help the Ivorians to be seen.
“We often hear that Burkina Faso is the first or China is the first to make attieke, and we who made attieke are the last,” Anono in Abidjan told a reporter.
In 2019, the government of the Ivory Coast began calling for the name, “Attieke des Lagunes” or “Attieke of the Lagoons”, and its extensive planning procedures, in order to protect its authenticity.
In the middle of 2023, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), which includes 17 French-speaking African countries, approved Ivory Coast and its production methods by giving them PGI or “Protected Geographical Indication”. The logo shows attieke's unique link to the Ivory Coast and distinguishes it from products made in other countries.
What other African foods have UNESCO heritage?
With his new role, attieke joins the Senegalese rice dish, thiebou dieune – the only other sub-Saharan African dish recognized by UNESCO.
From the northern city of Saint Louis, the dish, called chee-buu-jen, is prepared with fish and vegetables and is usually eaten for lunch or dinner. In the popular Wolof language, it means “rice and fish”.
UNESCO recognized this dish in 2021, as well as the rumba dance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Kenyan Isikuti dance was also listed in 2021.