Palm Wine is perhaps the most time-honored and universal moonshine in
sub-Saharan Africa.
What is Palm Wine
Palm wine or
white drink is an alcoholic beverage widely consumed in
West, South and Central Africa. People of Africa have for centuries tapped
the sap found in palm trees and let it ferment to make a popular alcoholic
beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree.
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| Drinking Palm Wine |
Drinking Palm Wine
Palm Wine taste variety from sweet to sour to vinegary. The sap used to create
palm wine is most often taken from wild date palms. The alcohol content most
commonly is about 1-13% by volume.
The amount of alcohol in the wine depends on the stage at which it is drunk. If
drunk fresh, it will contain most of its sugar, and so will taste sweet. Very
soon, the fermentation causes very copious bubbling and foaming from the
container, and more alcohol is produced.
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Palm Wine Fermentation in Nigeria
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Palm Wine Fermentation
The sap of certain palms contains a lot of sugar plus nutrients that are
essential for yeast growth. Although some palms are felled and tapped, the
quality of wine obtained from them is not considered as good as those from
standing trees. Tapping palm trees for the juice is a skilled art. The tapper
must know the exact spot to make his incision for the maximum flow of the
juice.
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Fermenting Palm Wine in Ghana
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In The Gambia Palm Wine is extracted from the palm tree by palm wine
tappers, most often Bainunka men who climb the trunk using a strap made from
rope or leaves called a kajandak. Palm wine was once the region's main social
drink, however the spread of beer and foreign liquor has in part curbed the
demand for the more traditional drink.
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| Palm Wine Tapper |
Palm Wine Tapper
The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically, the sap is
collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. A container is fastened to the
flower stump to collect the sap. The white liquid that initially collects
tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented.
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Straining Palm Wine
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Straining Palm Wine
Palm wine has some cultural medical applications with significant importance.
It is a great source of Vitamin B and directly used in Nigerian rural
Communities for treating Measles in Children.
The alcohol in Palm Wine evaporates while the food is cooking, and only the
flavor remains. Boiling down wine concentrates the flavor.
Consumed straight from the tree, palm wine is a non-alcoholic drink and said
by some to have medicinal qualities, especially for the digestive system.
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Palm Wine for sale in Ghana
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Palm Wine for sale
Palm-wine is a very popular drink in Nigeria; it is also common in places like
Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and some countries in Asia.
Palm wine has a strong cultural significance among Africans. It is used at
important traditional ceremonies like marriages, worship rites and other
festivals.
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Cooking with Palm Wine
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Cooking with Palm Wine
Palm tree sources of
Palm Wine differs from place to place. African countries
of Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Democratic Republic of Congo have
the most varied types of Palm Tree for extracting Palm wine.
Oil Palm tree and Raffia Palm are the most popular in West Africa. Indigenous
people living in or close to swampy Areas of Nigeria prefer to tap their Palm
wine from Raffia Palm. Igbos are known to take to tapping Palm Wine from Oil
Palm Trees.
Palm Wine in Africa
Africa prides itself on its history of traditional alcohol brewing. There
are many names for Palm wine depending on what village, town,
region, or country you visit in Africa.
Continue your journey at the
African Drink Lab — where Africa’s brews, wines, and rituals come alive.
