🌴 Bouye

Baobab fruit pulp, vanilla, sugar & cold water — Senegal's silky superfruit drink

15 min
Serves 1
Creamy & Tangy
Short glass over ice
0% ABV
  • 3 tbsp baobab powder (or pulp from 1 fresh baobab pod)
  • 500ml cold water
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • Ice

  1. 1
    DissolveCombine baobab powder with 200ml cold water. Whisk vigorously until smooth — baobab powder dissolves easily.
  2. 2
    MixAdd remaining water, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir until sugar dissolves.
  3. 3
    TasteThe flavour should be lightly tangy, creamy in texture, with a citrusy note. Adjust sweetness.
  4. 4
    ServePour over ice.

About This Drink

The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) can live for 3,000 years and stores hundreds of litres of water in its trunk. Its fruit — large pods containing a chalky, dried pulp — is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on earth, with six times the vitamin C of oranges. Bouye is the Wolof word for the baobab fruit drink sold on every street corner in Dakar.

Baobab powder is available at health food stores and African grocery stores (also increasingly in mainstream supermarkets). Fresh baobab pods can be found at West African grocery stores — crack open the hard shell and the dry pulp inside dissolves in water. For a creamier version, blend with coconut milk.

Source
Sold by street vendors across Senegal and West Africa; featured at Teranga (NYC)
Origin
Senegal / West Africa
Difficulty
Medium · 15 min