Egusi, also spelled egushi ( Yoruba: Ẹ̀gúṣí), are the

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants ( squash, melon,

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...

), which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Egusi is a Yoruba word, and the popular method of cooking it is deeply rooted in Yoruba culinary traditions. Egusi melon seeds are large and white in appearance; sometimes they look brownish or off-white in color but the main egusi color is primarily white. Scholars disagree whether the word is used more properly for the seeds of the colocynth, those of a particular large-seeded variety of the

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

, or generically for those of ''any'' cucurbitaceous plant. Egusi seeds are in a class of their own and should never be mistaken for

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

or watermelon seeds. In particular the name "egusi" may refer to either or both plants (or more generically to other cucurbits) in their capacity as seed crops, or to a soup made from these seeds and popular in West Africa. The characteristics and uses of all these seeds are broadly similar. Major egusi-growing

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

s include

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. Species from which egusi is derived include '' Melothria sphaerocarpa'' (syn. ''Cucumeropsis mannii'') and '' Citrullus lanatus''.

Names in other languages

The egusi stew delicacy is now widely eaten across large portions of West and Central Africa where it is known by various local names, many of which are variants of the word ''egusi'' itself. Some of the other names egusi goes by across the region include; * Yoruba : Egusi / Egushi (Ẹ̀gúṣí) * Hausa : Agusi, Agushi (via Yoruba) * Sierra Leone Krio : Egusi (via Yoruba) * Cameroonian Pidgin : Egusi (via Yoruba) * Twi : Akatowa * Ga : Agushi, Egushi (via Yoruba) * Igbo : Élìlì, Énìnì, Ekeke, Ahụ, Élìlè, Ilolo, Iroro, Éyìyè, Ogili, Nwanru, Ègwúsí (Onitsha Igbo; via Yoruba) * Edo : Ogi, Ikpogi * Ibibio,

Efik The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the ...

: Íkpán, Ikon * Fon : Gúsí (via Yoruba) * Nupe : Epín, Epíngi, Paragi * Urhobo : Ikpogri * Tiv : Icegher * Kikongo,

Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser de ...

: Mbika

Usage

Egusi seeds are used in making egusi soup; the soup is thickened with the seeds. ''Melothria sphaerocarpa'', which egusi seeds are from, grows throughout central to western Africa and is used by different ethnic groups in these regions to prepare the soup, and the origins of the soup are deeply rooted in the Yoruba culinary Egusi soup is a very popular soup in West Africa, with considerable local variations. Besides the seeds, water, and oil, egusi soup typically contains

leafy green Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaf, leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by their Petiole (botany), petioles and Shoot (botany), shoots, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten ...

s, other

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

s, seasonings, and

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

. Leafy greens typically used for egusi soup include Efo Tete, scentleaf, okazi/afang (wild spinach), bitterleaf (onugbu), pumpkin leaf (ugu), uziza leaf, celosia and

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

. Other commonly used vegetables include

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es,

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

and bell peppers. Typical seasonings include

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s, salt and locust beans. Also commonly used ingredients are

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

, chicken,

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, periwinkle,

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

or crayfish as sources of protein. In

, egusi is common throughout the country, and the seeds are used in making stews and soups. The Igbo refer to it as "egwusi," a borrowed term from the original Yoruba word "egusi." In

, egusi is also called akatoa, egushi or agushi, and is used for soup and stew, most popularly in palaver sauce. In the late 1980s, the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

funded a project intended to develop a machine to help

ians shell egusi seeds. A machine has also been developed in Nigeria to shell egusi.

Seed oil

Egusi seed oil contains linoleic acid (53%) and

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is cl ...

(19%).

Gallery

File:A Plate of Pounded Yam (Iyan) served in Birmingham UK.JPG, A plate of pounded yam and egusi soup File:Egusi and bitter leaf soup..jpg, Egusi and bitter leaf soup File:Egusi powder (lemon).jpg, Egusi powder with powdered lemon

References

{{Melons African soups Edible nuts and seeds Igbo cuisine Melon production Nigerian cuisine Yoruba cuisine

Names in other languages

Usage

Seed oil

Gallery

See also

References