Product Spotlight: Fonio & Fonio Pilafs from Yolélé-Revolutionary African Foods

By Patricia Kusumaningtyas

Are you bored of eating the same type of carb every day? Do you want to spice up your breakfast, lunches and dinners? Well, the Co-op has a new product that’s perfect for you. Fonio is the grain of a millet-like plant that hails from West Africa. It’s also nutritious and gluten-free! The Co-op carries a line of fonio products from Yolélé, a Black-owned company with a mission to ethically deliver products from rural West African farmers to food lovers across the United States. Its nutty flavor, fluffy texture and small grains make it a perfect addition to your salads, entrees, grain bowls, stuffing; you can even eat it as cereal.

Yolélé carries a large array of fonio products. One is its basic, versatile fonio grain (you’ll find it in white packaging with red text). It is also really easy to make in just minutes. You can cook it on a stovetop or in a microwave, and if you ever get lost, the instructions on the packaging will keep you on the right track. I’ve been eating my fonio with some Indonesian fried chicken I made recently, and I also drenched my fonio in the leftover chicken marinade.

A very popular way to cook fonio is a dish called fonio pilaf. A pilaf is as versatile as fonio itself—it’s a method of cooking grains in stock and adding spices and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat.  Luckily, if you’re a beginner in the world of fonio pilaf, Yolélé also carries different types of fonio pilaf that are quick and easy to make. These products have different spices and ingredients added to the fonio, so all you have to do is cook it! Among the fonio pilafs available at the Co-op are Greens!, which includes moringa and spinach, and Afro-Funk, which has dawadawa (fermented seeds from the locust bean tree) and herbs. You can find more information and recipe ideas for breakfast, sides, mains and dessert on the Yolélé website.

Are you excited to switch up your carb routine? Come grab your Yolélé fonio & fonio pilafs available for $5.57 per 7oz bag now at the Co-op!