Exotic Nuts

A number of exotic nuts are native to Africa; most familiar is probably the cola (or kola) nut, which contains the stimulants theobromine, kolanine and caffeine, minute amounts of which may be found in sparkling drinks such as Coca-Cola. The cola nut is rather bitter; few Westerners have found a place for it in their cuisine, though the French sometimes use small amounts in desserts. Another African nut is the dika, of much less importance and used only when ground into an oily paste, called dika “bread”.