Taste and Touch of Uganda

You feel the constant sticky heat and excessive humidity and wonder why the people of Uganda wander around in winter coats. You are pressed on every side by the wall of people in the city or the scurry of never-ending traffic mostly consisting of taxi vans overloaded with people or Bota Bota’s (motorcycles used as taxis) carrying two or three passengers along with their belongings. You were surprised as the sudden rains of rainy season drench you as you go about your day or the dusty roads that don’t seem to even acknowledge the rains. The many dirt roads that rattle your bones to your very core necessitate a visit to the chiropractor once you return home.

The native fruit trees were in abundance in Uganda but I was told by a native Ugandan that they didn’t know what to do with it all. It was not possible to use it or keep it from spoiling on a daily basis.

The picture below is a piece of jack fruit. It tasted like a cross between pineapple and something citrus. It was very good but sticky. You had to peel away the small fibrousy strands to get to the "meat" of the fruit. The outside of the fruit looked like a watermelon(about that size also) but with a prickly texture. Very odd looking and it grew on trees.

The delicious fruits we experienced were bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya, watermelon, oranges, lemons, limes and jack fruit. Also, in abundance, were avocado, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes (which, by the way, were white also), greens or several sorts and cabbage.


We had fish, fish and more fish, rice(the yellowish mound on the red platter), beans, posho, chapotis, and mandazi’s. Posho(bottom of picture on blue and pink plates) looked like a very thick mashed potatoes but tasted nothing like it. It was made from the cassava plant ground up into flour with water added. The Ugandans used it as a utensil to pick up other foods. Utensils are not always in abundance or even available on some of the Islands.








Chapotis reminded me of flour tortillas and mandazis were like a fried doughnut only not sweet. Unless, of course, you dipped them in sugar (made from sugar cane, another abundant crop) which we did!!

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The children carried around sugar cane as a snack (just chewed for the sweet juice – not swallowed). Tim (the missionary) stopped and bought us some from a street vendor on our way home one evening. Here we are all trying to look like the locals. HaHa I don't think we fooled anyone.

We especially enjoyed the sugar in our tea. Hot tea, that is. I don’t think I saw a piece of ice the entire time I was in Uganda. Tea is grown right there in Uganda. They do have British roots, you know!

Tea was served every afternoon with sugar and milk available and ground nuts(peanuts) to eat.

Don't ask me why I was so taken by this "can" of mixed fruit jam except that I've never seen jam in a can. It was really good though. I had it on bread or chapoti's most mornings for breakfast.

Thanks for stopping by! More to come!!