ChicAfricanCulture/african-foodways-data

Archiving the intangible systems of African food – since 2006. African Foodways Data A structured, open-access dataset of traditional African recipes, ingredients, and food practices. This repository preserves and shares African culinary heritage in a format that's useful for developers, researchers, AI training, and food enthusiasts. About This Dataset This collection documents the diversity of African cuisine through: - Traditional recipes with ingredients and methods - Ingredient information including botanical names where relevant - Regional variations of classic dishes - Preparation techniques unique to African cooking - Cultural context and food traditions - Sensory observations (aroma, texture, appearance) All data is provided in structured, machine-readable formats. Repository Structure african-foodways-data/ ├── recipes/ │ ├── west-africa/ │ ├── east-africa/ │ ├── southern-africa/ │ ├── north-africa/ │ └── central-africa/ ├── ingredients/ │ ├── grains/ │ ├── vegetables/ │ ├── spices/ │ └── proteins/ ├── plants/ │ ├── wild-harvested/ │ └── cultivated/ ├── techniques/ └── index.json text File Formats Each entry is available in: - JSON - For developers and AI applications - Markdown - For human readability Sample Recipe Structure { "name": "Recipe name", "region": "West Africa", "country": "Nigeria", "ingredients": [], "instructions": [], "prep_time": "minutes", "cook_time": "minutes", "cultural_notes": "" } How to Use This Data For Developers: Fetch all West African recipes using the index.json file. For AI/ML Training: This dataset is formatted for easy ingestion into language models, recommendation systems, and food recognition applications. For Researchers: Use this data for culinary anthropology studies, regional cuisine analysis, and food preservation research. For Food Enthusiasts: Browse the Markdown files directly on GitHub. Contributing You can help by: - Adding a family recipe - Correcting or improving existing entries - Adding regional context - Translating recipes - Documenting preparation te …