Facts About Pap
What do you think of pap or you haven’t heard of it. Pap is a soft food for infants or invalids, but it is considered a meal for every age because of its nutritional value. It is a common food in Nigeria. Nigeria is a West Africa countries that have various tribes and language. Due to the tribes, it has different local names. In the Igbo language, it is called akamu; in Yoruba, it is called ogi or eko but generally known as pap in Nigeria. In Kenya, its local name is Uji.
It is likened to a custard made from corn starch, and pap is also made from corn; you can also refer to it as African corn pudding. The production phase of pap is way different from the custard. The main ingredients include maize, sorghum, or millet.
Pap also comes in different colors, but the nutrients still remain intact. Different colors are based on the types of grain used.
Grayish pap – millet
White pap – white corn
Maroon pap – guinea corn
Yellow pap – yellow corn
The Production Phase of Pap
Like I told you earlier on, it is produced from grain. The grain is soaked in water for good three days, wet milling follows, and then it is sieved to get rid of husk. The derived product from sieving is allowed to ferment for three days. The fermentation process it has undergone is the reason behind the tangy taste. It is subsequently boiled into a pap or a creamy pudding, and it is ready for consumption. You can choose to add anything you either milk or sugar or even both.
It is always taken for breakfast and dinner because it is an example of light food. It also assists nursing mothers because it is a good, weaning meal. It is a portion of nutritional food.
Nutrient Composition of Pap
The amount per – 100 grams
Calories – 50
Total fat – 0.2 gram
Cholesterol – 0%
Potassium – 16 milligram
Total carbohydrate – 11 grams
Dietary fiber – 0.5 gram
Protein – 1.4 grams
Caffeine – 0 milligram
Calcium – 5%
Iron – 20%
Magnesium – 1%
The right combo for pap that would actually make a great taste in your mouth:
Fried plantains: this is gotten from plantain after being fried with either groundnut oil or palm oil.
Nutritional fact of fried plantain: calorie- 215, fat- 0.22 gram, carbohydrate- 58 grams, protein- 2 grams, fiber- 3 grams, potassium- 663 grams, vitamin C– 23 grams, vitamin A– 63 micrograms, Vitamin B-6- 0.29 grams and magnesium– 57 grams.
Pancakes: this meal does not require a lot of energy in its product, but it definitely tastes good. The ingredients needed include flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil.
How Pancakes are Made:
Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. After that, then make a hole in the center of the mixture and pour in milk, egg, and oil. Then mix it gently till it is smooth. Apply medium heat to your oil in a frying pan, pour the mixture using a 1/4 cup for each pancake until it is brown on both sides. It is ready to be served.
Nutritional Facts of Pancake:
calories- 227, saturated fat- 2.1 grams, polyunsaturated fat- 4.4 grams, monounsaturated fat- 2.5 grams, cholesterol– 59 milligram, sodium– 439 grams, potassium- 132 gram, carbohydrate- 28 grams, Vitamin A- 3%, Calcium- 21%, Iron- 9%, cobalamin- 3%, Magnesium- 4%.
Akara and Moi-Moi: this recipe is the common combo Nigerians like the most. It is a nutritional meal and delicious. It is gotten from wet grounded beans when fried with oil, and Moi-Moi is also made from beans.
Nutritional Value of Akara and Moi-Moi
carbohydrate- 43 grams, dietary fiber- 8 grams, sugar- 9 gram, fat- 1 gram, protein- 14 grams, sodium- 177 grams, potassium- 963 grams calorie- 71.
Bread: we all know what bread is and the various types of bread. You can try it with any of the types you prefer.
Nutritional Facts of Bread
calorie- 265, fat- 3.5 grams, sodium- 49 milligram, potassium- 115 milligrams, carbohydrate- 46 grams, dietary fiber- 2.7 gram, sugar- 5 grams, protein- 9 grams, calcium- 26%, iron- 19%, vitamin B-6- 5%, magnesium- 6%.
Fruit: any sliced fruit.
Puff puff: puff puff is a sweet delicious fried flour, which you are used to as a snack, but it is also a good combo for akamu.
Beans: another combo that would make your akamu delicious is beans; it is a proteinous food that makes it healthier and nutritional.
Nutritional Value of Beans
calorie- 347, fat- 1.2 grams, sodium 12 grams, potassium 1,393 grams, carbohydrate 63 grams, dietary fiber 16 gram, sugar 2.1 grams, protein 21 grams, magnesium 44%, Vitamin C 10%, calcium 11%, vitamin B-6 25%, iron 28%.
Okpa: this is a traditional food commonly eaten in the eastern part of Nigeria, and it really tastes delicious. It is made from Bambara flour. The main ingredients include palm oil, crayfish, onions, salt, warm water.
Health Benefit of Pap
In Nigeria, due to its lightness and economic friendly, it is so loved by the majority. It doesn’t only have good taste, but it also has some health benefits.
- It regulates blood sugar: people with high blood pressure need foods with potassium and avoid foods with sodium at all costs. Pap is a zero amount of sodium meal. Pap is considered a good choice for them. It helps to maintain your blood pressure.
It is always of help to people treating hypertension because it helps make the journey easier. High consumption of calcium causes high blood pressure and also the risk of developing heart diseases. So that’s a reason I pap recommended as a healthy meal.
- A good source of energy: Akamu is a rich and excellent source of carbohydrates. I have never seen a living thing that has ever existed without oxygen. Your body needs energy, which is one of the requirements you can’t do without. The carbohydrate present in Ogi provides you with a sharp brain and the conversion/metabolism of fat for energy. It is highly recommended for athletes.
- Boost your kidney‘s health: among the vital organs in your body is your kidney; it can interrupt the whole body if it gets affected. It gets damaged by uric acid, urea, toxins, waste substance, and harmful substances. Since pap aids help get rid of harmful substances, it helps to keep the kidney healthy.
- Good for infants and toddlers: pap is a popular weaning food in Nigeria. It is easy to digest for babies, and it is also nutritional to the growing infant, starting from 4 months of age. The brown pap is the best form of pap good for babies. It contains guinea corn and millet, which make available minerals, protein, and vitamins. These nutrients are very important for a child’s development.
- Easy digest: one of the easily digestible foods you can ever found. Easy digestion makes excretion easy. It allows your body to get rid of waste products and toxic substances in your body by raising the rate at which you urinate. It helps people with digestive conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and a sensitive stomach. It will work gently with no stress on your digestive system.
- Lowers LDL cholesterol: from the two types of cholesterol: Low-Density Lipoprotein LDL and High-Density Lipoprotein HDL, the LDL is seen as the bad cholesterol. Excess LDL causes disruption in the circulation of blood in your blood. It forms a plaque on the wall of your artery.
Pap contains elements that can reduce the amount of LDL in your body. It also lowers, considerably, the risk of diabetes and increases the level of your HDL.
- Good for nursing mothers: it increases the flow of breast milk in nursing mothers. It is well recommended for nursing mothers to make their nursing experience easy.
