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Q&A With Prof. Kofi Sefa-Dedeh
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Our
guest columnist is Kofi S. Sefa-Dedeh, a professor in
the Food Science Department of the University of Ghana.Formerly
the Country Director
in Ghana for the New York-based Hunger Project, he now
serves as Dean of International Programs at the Univerisity
of Ghana. |
Q: What kind of corn do people grow in Ghana?
A:
We grow dent, flint, and a little sweet corn. The bulk of
the corn will be dent corn. We do not grow yellow
corn.
Q:
Is cocoyam the same thing as taro?
A:
Yes. However, in the common literature one can confuse the
type of edible aroid,
as the same aroid may be referred
to
with a different name in different locations. The
best way of identifying the aroids is through the use
of scientific/botanical names. I could send you the common
English names and the
scientific
names if you are interested.
Q:
How many kinds of African yam are there?
A:
There are several. We can however refer to 4-5 major yam
species. These are:
*
Dioscorea alata
* Dioscorea rotundata
* Diascorea esculenta
* Diascorea dumetorum
Each
of these has a common English name which may vary from place
to place. The four listed
are
the major species.
We may
have in addition another 6-8 minor species.
Q:
What are some papers you have written on traditional African
foods:
A:
1.
Sefa-Dedeh, S. 1993. Traditional Food Technology. In:
Encyclopaedia of Food
Science, Food Technology
and Nutrition.
Ed. Macrae,
R., Robinson, R. and Sadler, M.
pp 4600-4606. Acad Press. New York.
2.
Sefa-Dedeh, S. 1995. Process and
product characteristics of agbelima,
a fermented
cassava product. Tropical
Science 35:39-364
3.
Sefa-Dedeh, S. 1989. Effects of particle size on some physicochemical
characteristics
of "agbelima" (cassava
dough) and corn dough. Tropical
Science 29: 21-32
4.
Sefa-Dedeh, S. and Nketsia-Tabiri, J. 1996.
Post-production issues
and aquaculture development
in Ghana. pp 28-30.
In: Prein, M. Ofori, J.K.
and Lightfoot (eds) Research for
the
Future Development of Aquaculture
in Ghana.
ICLARM Conf. Proc., 42, 94p
5.
Mensah E. O. and Sefa-Dedeh, S. 1991. Traditional food-processing
technology
and high-protein
food production. Food
and Nutrition Bulletin 13:43-49.
6.
Sefa-Dedeh, S., Osei, A.K., Ampadu, R., Annan,
G. and Acquaye
M. 1991.
Effects of
spice on the
physico-chemical characteristics
of cereal flours. Ghana
Journal of Biochemistry,
Botechnology
and Molecular Biology 1:56-73.
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