The case of the uncooked maize meal: Mzansi reacts to maize meal taking ’longer to cook’
|Published
How long does it take to cook a maize meal dish? It is one of the most frequently asked cooking questions on social media right now. Picture: Supplied
How long does it take to cook a maize meal dish? It is one of the most frequently asked cooking questions on social media right now.
The question was recently raised on Twitter by a user called @Zamathenjwa_ , who asked what is happening with maize meal because it’s not getting cooked any more.
Guys impuphu ayisavuthwa kanti kwenzakalani?
— Zamathenjwa (@Zamathenjwa_) August 12, 2020
She wasn't the only one. People across social media also complained about pap taking longer than usual to cook. Many people commented that they have been experiencing the same problem and that they just do not understand what is happening.
@SthokieM said she ended up throwing the pap in the dustbin thinking that it did not cook properly. She said that it was taking forever to cook and even made her sister taste it and her sister said it is uncooked, and that she must give it more time.
And here I was last week ngichitha uphuthu ngithi linyelile. Izolo I was making pap & wondering why it’s taking forever to cook. Even made my sis taste it wathi lidlaza I must give it time 🤨
— Mumbo Omhlophe (@SthokieM) August 12, 2020
@AndileMarntel said this is true; that she noticed it retains water and porridge is not getting as thick any more.
This is true... Mina what I noticed is aluhlakazeki it retains water and Porridge isn't getting as thick anymore
— That's my B! (@BigBootyBender) August 12, 2020
Maize meal is a staple in many homes in South Africa. Whether you have it as phuthu, umphokoqo, stiff or wet pap and porridge, it's the main source of starch in the country. Many people eat maize meal twice or three times a day, so not being able to properly cook it, has been frustrating for them.
Plus it generally doesn't take long to cook. It ideally shouldn't take you more than 40 minutes to cook, depending on how much you are cooking and the style of pap you are cooking.
We recently tried it out and it took more than an hour to cook phuthu and even then, it wasn't cooked as well as it should have been. When it comes to cooking maize meal, there is no general rule for cooking it, people cook it in different ways.
Let us say you are making a pap dish, some people bring water to boil first, add salt, then with a spoon or fork mix in the maize meal a bit at a time. This method ensures that you do not put in too much.
They then fold it into the desired texture (it can be fermented and served at breakfast as porridge, or cooked in a more dense form for lunch and dinner and served with stews or sour milk). Thereafter they turn the stove to a lower heat and let it cook for like thirty minutes.
With other people, before adding the maize meal to the boiling water, they first mix it with cold water, which they say prevents lumps from forming. But it seems like their cooking tricks have been falling recently.
We have sent comment requests to maize meal producers and at the time of publishing there has been no response.