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Is it just my family, or Africans actually don’t like cheese?

gossipgirl88

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Is it just my family or Africans don’t generally like cheese? The majority of my family members (primarily older ones) don’t like cheese at all.

When my cousin moved here 2 years ago, he thought cheese was so disgusting. He’s young so I realized that it wasn’t just an older African generation thing. I also have a friend from Nigeria who told me the first time he ate pizza he asked them to remove cheese. When eats burgers he also removes cheese.

Looking back at my childhood, the only cheese we ever ate was the laughing cow. We usually put it on bread like butter. And I can’t think of a single African meal I’ve eaten that includes cheese.

So is it just my family or the people I’ve met... or Africans really just don’t like cheese??!
 

Depoze Konpa

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Not African and I can't for the life of me remember where and in what context I read this but I remember reading how so many African fstudying in Paris in the early to mid 20th century would get physically ill from the food because they couldn't tolerate all the cheese and dairy in French cuisine?

Makes perfect sense, seeing that a lot of black people are lactose intolerant and it was these students' first time living in the West (I'm lactose intolerant myself, although I can still tolerate the hard cheeses. It's the creamy ones that give me the runs)
 

amwood842

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Nope. I'm Ethiopian and loovvvvveeee cheese, literally one of my favourite foods. There is no way Africans could possibly dislike cheese collectively because some parts of Africa (particularly East Africa and tribes like the Masai) have a long-established history of being pastoralist, cattle or goat herding tribes who consumed plenty of dairy.
 

mithras

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i love a nice brie

edit - lmao i see y'all laughin at my brie but trust me u gotta try it

Unknown.jpeg
 
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Depoze Konpa

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Nope. I'm Ethiopian and loovvvvveeee cheese, literally one of my favourite foods. There is no way Africans could possibly dislike cheese collectively because some parts of Africa (particularly East Africa and tribes like the Masai) have a long-established history of being pastoralist, cattle or goat herding tribes who consumed plenty of dairy.
I could be wrong (I'm sure someone will tell me if I am) but West and Central Africa do not have a cheese tradition like that. It's a fact that lactose intolerant is fairly common in people of West and Central African descent
 
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I remember reading somewhere that many Africans are lactose intolerant. I know my dad doesn't eat cheese and drink milk

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BunnyBoo

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I know plenty of Africans that love cheese. I cant eat it because dairy messes my hormones up.
 

bubyub11

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I'm Nigerian American (born in US).
I hate cheese and dairy. My parents like it.
For my siblings, it's about 50/50
 

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Nope. I'm Ethiopian and loovvvvveeee cheese, literally one of my favourite foods. There is no way Africans could possibly dislike cheese collectively because some parts of Africa (particularly East Africa and tribes like the Masai) have a long-established history of being pastoralist, cattle or goat herding tribes who consumed plenty of dairy.
Genetically people from the horn can digest milk, but not people of West African ancestry. I found this out when I did 23 and Me.
 

funkyfreak89

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what??? that's the 1st time i hear west africans are lactose intolerant. it certainly isn't the case in Benin. idk anyone in my entourage who is lactose intolerant. we actually believed that was a western thing

we have a very large population of herders (peulh) in north benin and one of our favorite snack is warangashi
 

FortunaPlus

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what??? that's the 1st time i hear west africans are lactose intolerant. it certainly isn't the case in Benin. idk anyone in my entourage who is lactose intolerant. we actually believed that was a western thing
The milk in Africa is different because it comes from different cows. Give someone from Benin cartoon milk from an American grocery store they will be shitting everywhere.
 

herbalmintea

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I know plenty of Africans that love cheese. I cant eat it because dairy messes my hormones up.
Same here. I didn’t know until later in life that cheese and other dairy products don’t agree with a lot of people of African ancestry. My dads lactose intolerant too.
 

funkyfreak89

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Not African and I can't for the life of me remember where and in what context I read this but I remember reading how so many African fstudying in Paris in the early to mid 20th century would get physically ill from the food because they couldn't tolerate all the cheese and dairy in French cuisine?

Makes perfect sense, seeing that a lot of black people are lactose intolerant and it was these students' first time living in the West (I'm lactose intolerant myself, although I can still tolerate the hard cheeses. It's the creamy ones that give me the runs)
i believe it's because western milk is vastly different from what is consumed locally in africa. even veggies and chicken don't taste the same from my experience
 

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It depends what region you’re from. I believe people in East Africa and the Horn consume more dairy. But where I am from (West and central Africa) it really was not a part of my diet, if at all. I don’t have anything against it, but these Western dishes that are all cheese And cream based are hard for me to eat.
And to add to what the others said, many of my family are lactose intolerant
 

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i believe it's because western milk is vastly different from what is consumed locally in africa. even veggies and chicken don't taste the same from my experience
What type of milk is most consumed in West Africa? Cow milk? Goat milk?

Or is it the hormones that Western cows are subjected to that are the problem?

Not surprised by the veggies and chicken. It's the same in the Caribbean. Huge difference in taste between fresh, organic food and food that is treated with all sorts of pesticides and hormones
 

RichAndFab

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man it finally just clicked to me why my west african friend was always disgusted i got the chick fil a sandwich with cheese LMAO i get it now but yea come to think of it i cant think of any foods in west africa with cheese. that's not the same for east, north and south though from what ive experienced..
 

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A tiny bit of cheese is okay BUT I cannot stand mac n cheese like that. Maybe a tiny portion, not a lot.
I can do hard cheeses like cheddar or Monterey Jack with no problem, so I can eat mac and cheese or pizza just fine. But anything soft will make me sick. Do not put any Camembert in front of me, I'll barf on site. I don't do cow's milk either. I drink soy milk.
 

funkyfreak89

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What type of milk is most consumed in West Africa? Cow milk? Goat milk?

Or is it the hormones that Western cows are subjected to that are the problem?

Not surprised by the veggies and chicken. It's the same in the Caribbean. Huge difference in taste between fresh, organic food and food that is treated with all sorts of pesticides and hormones
i think it depends on the region but overall goat milk is more consumed. And Yeah tomatoes are tasteless to me here but when i visit Benin or Cote d'ivoire, the flavors are so rich!
 

funkyfreak89

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I can do hard cheeses like cheddar or Monterey Jack with no problem, so I can eat mac and cheese or pizza just fine. But anything soft will make me sick. Do not put any Camembert in front of me, I'll barf on site. I don't do cow's milk either. I drink soy milk.
strangely i love (only french) camembert, the smellier the better lmao but i'll admit i don't drink the milk here (canada) but i can do cheese easily.
 

ababda

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Is it just my family or Africans don’t generally like cheese? The majority of my family members (primarily older ones) don’t like cheese at all.

When my cousin moved here 2 years ago, he thought cheese was so disgusting. He’s young so I realized that it wasn’t just an older African generation thing. I also have a friend from Nigeria who told me the first time he ate pizza he asked them to remove cheese. When eats burgers he also removes cheese.

Looking back at my childhood, the only cheese we ever ate was the laughing cow. We usually put it on bread like butter. And I can’t think of a single African meal I’ve eaten that includes cheese.

So is it just my family or the people I’ve met... or Africans really just don’t like cheese??!

Actually it depends on the person, or family genetic. I know my family in Sudan loves cheese of different variety.
 

Depoze Konpa

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i think it depends on the region but overall goat milk is more consumed. And Yeah tomatoes are tasteless to me here but when i visit Benin or Cote d'ivoire, the flavors are so rich!
Eating chicken in Haiti for the first time as a kid, I was blown away. It tastes like a different meat altogether. Makes you realize how heavily the food we get here in Canada is tampered with.
 

Depoze Konpa

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strangely i love (only french) camembert, the smellier the better lmao but i'll admit i don't drink the milk here (canada) but i can do cheese easily.
Yuck. I detest camembert, so me not being able to digest it is no loss to me. Hell, I have an aversion to smelly cheese in general
 

ababda

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Genetically people from the horn can digest milk, but not people of West African ancestry. I found this out when I did 23 and Me.

I heard among the Fulani milk and cheese is very common, if i am correct?
 
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Growing up in boarding school, i used to have terrible stomach pain whenever i drank tea with milk. I didn't why. So i hated tea so much. Till date, i don't like it. It took me long to realize i was lactose intolerant. As for cheese, i see it as raw fat. I always make sure no cheese is put in my burger, or any other meals.
It just irrirtates me and it's tastless in my mouth. Also, it spoiles the taste of my food. It feels like someone put in rubber or gum in my food.
Just give me my burger like that please, thank you (I mean no harm). I didn't know it was an "African" thing or should I say, West African.
 

Champagne44

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Not african, but carribean. I used to love milk and cheese growing up in the Caribbean. I cannot drink milk in America. It just disgusts me idk why.. It's just so thin and watery to me. It makes me gag. Im not lactose intolerant.
I can intake milk in any of its processed form tho..all types of cheese, greek/yogurt, icecream. My doctor says it's because it processed so it makes it easier for me to consume.
 

Jahshii

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Most black people are lactose intolerant.

Also cheese isn’t really a staple in African cuisine
 

FortunaPlus

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What type of milk is most consumed in West Africa? Cow milk? Goat milk?

Or is it the hormones that Western cows are subjected to that are the problem?

Not surprised by the veggies and chicken. It's the same in the Caribbean. Huge difference in taste between fresh, organic food and food that is treated with all sorts of pesticides and hormones
American milk is from Holstein cows. Holstein cows milk is particularly bad for lactose intolerance. Africa doesn't use Holstein cows. Zebu cows, which are in West Africa, and I'm sure other parts, have milk that is less triggering to LI tummies.
 

Liliu

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Nope. I'm Ethiopian and loovvvvveeee cheese, literally one of my favourite foods. There is no way Africans could possibly dislike cheese collectively because some parts of Africa (particularly East Africa and tribes like the Masai) have a long-established history of being pastoralist, cattle or goat herding tribes who consumed plenty of dairy.
Not African but I am black and I still consider major love for dairy (milk) and cheese in everything a wypipo thing. Because as most have said most black people are lactose intolerant because its not naturally apart of most diets. Of course you can build a tolerance to it.
Fun Fact goat milk has LESS lactose than cow milk which is why it's acceptable for most people unless they are severely lactose intolerant.
I remember an employee at Trader Joes suggested I buy goat milk yogurt when I was looking for a lactose free option it was DISGUSTING so I didn't end up finishing it but yeah that may be why some can handle goat milk products: less lactose.
My family stopped buying cow milk when I was in middle school so any tolerance I had for it is long gone.
 
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FortunaPlus

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A lot of people here are saying they are Black but not lactose intolerant. It doesn't always show up as a dislike of milk, or stomach aches. I was telling my niece this the last time I saw her. She ate ice cream a few days later and shortly after she stated doing that hocking noise people do itching their throat. I told her she got all that mucus from from that ice cream and she figured out that she has been experiencing lacrosse intolerance her whole life she jyst didn't put two and two together.
 

Lexonfiyah

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It’s not in their diets. Cheese is white ppl stuff. I eat bc I’m Black American and am westernized. I’m so used to eating it. This reminds me of people on Twitter talking about never hearing of Chinese people eat cheese. It made no sense the big deal that they were making of it bc plenty of cultures don’t eat cheese.
 

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I could be wrong (I'm sure someone will tell me if I am) but West and Central Africa do not have a cheese tradition like that. It's a fact that lactose intolerant is fairly common in people of West and Central African descent

But Fulani people in West Africa are cattle herders. Dairy is the main source of their diet. I've even seen some of their traditional white dresses worn by the women referred to as milk maid dresses. I believe women in Fulani tribes do most of the processing of the milk.

What type of milk is most consumed in West Africa? Cow milk? Goat milk?

Or is it the hormones that Western cows are subjected to that are the problem?

Not surprised by the veggies and chicken. It's the same in the Caribbean. Huge difference in taste between fresh, organic food and food that is treated with all sorts of pesticides and hormones

I think hormones has something to do with it. I've read that a lot of people in America that think they are lactose intolerant may not be lactose intolerant at all. They may just have bad reactions to the hormones and enzymes found in some milks, and they probably should be reaching for the more organic types of milk instead.
 
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Lexonfiyah

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man it finally just clicked to me why my west african friend was always disgusted i got the chick fil a sandwich with cheese LMAO i get it now but yea come to think of it i cant think of any foods in west africa with cheese. that's not the same for east, north and south though from what ive experienced..
Personally, I don’t like my chickfila sandwiches with cheese either. I’ll eat on other things but I don’t prefer it on chicken sandwiches.
 

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West, central and South Africans don’t have lactose persistence genes to digest dairy so their cultures didn’t develop that strongly around milk and milk byproducts but Nilotic speakers like the Dinka and Afro-Asiatic speakers like the Somali do have it.
 

Lyndy Prosper

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Am southern african, and I loooove cheese, but I am lactose intolerant. Cannot do fresh cow's milk at all, but certain cheeses are ok if I have a bit. But in terms of the taste I love all cheese, except for blue cheese.
 

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