By Chiazam George and Blessing Onyeaka
Mortars are said to be essentials in every kitchen, some say they are preferred to modern innovation.
A cross section of women in the Federal Capital Territory said in Abuja that electronic kitchen gadgets were limited in functionality.
Mrs Joyce Alabi, a civil servant in Katampe said that the electric blender was limited in its functions in spite of its efficiency; hence she could not do without the wooden mortar.
“I cannot use the electric blender to prepare “banga soup” and that is one of the reasons that the mortar remains irreplaceable in my kitchen,” she said.
Alabi noted that her husband preferred eating food prepared with the wooden mortar to food those prepared with electric devices.
“My husband prefers eating pounded yam prepared in mortar to poundo yam flour and you can only pound with a mortar and the difference is very clear, they don’t taste the same.
”Pounded yam has an original taste,” she said.
Mrs Ezinne Chukwuemeka, a resident of Gwagwalada, said that mortar enables her manage the little amount of ingredients she uses in cooking.
“I prefer using mortar because I love doing things myself and with the mortar, I don’t lose my ingredients especially when the quantity is small.
“I also prefer using my mortar for Fufu and pounded yam because there is always a difference, just as the washing machine will not give you the perfect wash as your hands will.
”Modern kitchen equipment are the same with the washing machines, this is what makes me prefer my mortar,” she said.
Similarly, Mrs Grace Akajie, a housewife in Suleja, said the wooden mortar always comes to the rescue especially when there was no power supply.
“With the wooden mortar, I can cook anytime I want. Yes, the blender saves time but I can only use it when there is electricity.
”This is why I must have a mortar even if I have 10 electric blenders,” Akajie said.
However, Mrs Kunle Emmanuel, a resident of Gwagwalada, said she preferred the new kitchen equipment because they made cooking easier, faster and less stressful.
“Using the mortar to prepare fufu and pounded yam takes an hour or more but the equipment takes few minutes and the food is ready,” she said.
Also, Mrs Sukanmi Ayodele, said she does not like stress and that was why she chose to use the modern kitchen equipment, which made cooking easier.
According to her, I love following the trend and adopting new things that make life easier and less stressful.
Mr Charles Ayuba, a business man in Wuse, said he did not mind how the food was prepared as long as it came out fine.
Ayuba said he would not want his wife to use the wooden mortar as it seemed very stressful to use.
“I can eat both pounded yam and Poundo Yam, as long as my stomach is filled.
”I also think pounding with the mortar is very stressful and I wouldn’t want my wife to engage in such a strenuous activity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Kabiru Husseni, a wooden mortar producer and vendor at Giri, Gwagwalada Area Council, said that the new kitchen equipment did not affect his business as there was unceasing demand for wooden mortars.
“The invention of these kitchen equipment has not affected our sales. Mortar has different uses and most people don’t buy it because they want to grind but the design also attracts them,” he said.
According to him, most people cannot afford those modern equipment and some do not like the poundo yam and the likes of them, so they prefer the real pounded yam.
“If we produce thousands of mortars here, it does not last long, they will all be sold out because people come here to buy and even take it outside Nigeria,” he said.
Husseni stated that he would have issues with his wife if she served him poundo yam, as he preferred the real pounded yam.
Another wooden mortar vendor, Abdulahi Suleiman, in Katampe, said that there was continuous demand for the wooden mortar and that his customers used it mostly for pounding yam or fufu.
“The demand for wooden mortar is high. In fact, it takes not more than three days to supply over 200 pieces of wooden mortars to both wholesalers and retailers.
“People buy the wooden mortars for various reasons but majority of my customers buy them mostly for pounding yam and fufu and as gifts for new brides,” Suleiman noted.
According to him, mortars cannot go extinct as many homes can not do without them.
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