I'm returning to Cameroon for this week's post. (Readers with good memories may recall that I did a post about Cameroonian soft drinks back on June 22, 2016.) This was a 12 ounce (340 gram) bottle of roasted corn and peanuts. Why a drink bottle was used instead of a jar, or can, is beyond me, but that's what it was. This snack was made and packed by God's Time FOB Leader Foods in Cameroon, and distributed by JKUB LLC International Foods.
I wasn't able to find out much about this particular snack type. Other than that it's evidently a common street food in Cameroon. It's also a good source of protein and dietary fiber, and has a bit of potassium. Some websites said that alternative names for this snack are guru-guru and krang krang. (The latter, in singular form, is apparently also a slang term for marijuana, and is the name of a supervillain in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe.)
Similarly, I wasn't able to learn much about the manufacturing or distribution companies. The oddly named God's Time FOB Leader Foods also makes cassava leaves, spices, sauces, yams, escargot, and fish. JKUB International Foods was founded in 2009 by a Ms. Ouadje, an ex-pat Cameroonian living in the Washington, D.C. area. It's devoted to importing African foods and beverages, especially Cameroonian ones. Other products handled include soft drinks, vegetables, oils, spices and condiments, meat and fish, tubers, starchy roots and fruit, legumes, sugars and syrups, and "miscellaneous."
The snack itself was as billed--dried roasted corn kernals and dried roasted peanuts, which still had their inner papery skins on them. I was unimpressed. I'm not big on corn in general, after a childhood incident wherein I vomited up corn and ham in a traumatic fashion. Even so, these pieces of corn were dry and mostly tasteless. I do love peanuts (or "groundnuts" as they're called in Cameroon), but this presentation was disappointing--they were bland and weak-tasting as well. I could only manage to eat maybe a fifth of the bottle before I gave up.
I'll end by discussing some famous Cameroonians. First off, there's Roman Oben, who played offensive tackle in the NFL from 1996-2007, with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Diego Chargers. He was a member of the Buccaneers Super Bowl 37 winning squad. Controversial nose tackle Ndamukang Suh currently plays with the Los Angeles Rams, and formerly played with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, starting in 2010. Suh has been named to 5 Pro Bowls and 3 All Pro teams, and was also the Defensive Rookie of the Year. (And yes, he's also been fined many times, and suspended once, for on the field disciplinary infractions.) Suh was born in the U.S., but is of Cameroonian heritage.
At least 3 guys with Cameroonian ancestry have played in the NBA. Joakim Noah played as a center from 2007-18, with the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. He was named to 2 All Star teams, and was a Defensive Player of the Year. His father, Yannick, was a pro tennis player, who won 23 singles titles (including a Grand Slam event), and a Grand Slam doubles title. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute currently plays power foward/small forward with the Los Angeles Clippers, and he's also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Houston Rockets. My 76ers currently start center Joel Embiid, who was the 3rd pick in the 2014 draft, and was an All Star in 2018.
Several entertainers have Cameroonian ancestry, too. Some of them only learned this based on results of DNA testing. Yaphet Kotto is an actor, probably best known for roles in "Alien" (1979), "The Running Man" (1987), and "Midnight Run" (1988). Chris Rock is best known for his stand up comedy, and he's won 3 Grammys and 4 Emmys. He's also acted in such films as "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" (1988), "New Jack City" (1991), "Dogma" (1999), and the "Madagascar" series. Chris Tucker is also an actor, probably best known for roles in movies like "Friday" (1995), "Dead Presidents" (1995), "The Fifth Element" (1997), the "Rush Hour" series, and "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012). Blair Underwood has acted in such movies as "Krush Groove" (1985), "Just Cause" (1995), and "Gattaca" (1997), and was a regular on the television series "L.A. Law" (1987-96). Jessica Williams is best known for being a correspondent on "The Daily Show," but she also acts in the just released "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" and hosts a podcast, "2 Dope Queens."
And finally, in the world of politics, Condoleezza Rice was the U.S. Secretary of State from 2005-09.
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