The sheer joy of eating fufu is is hard to match. The tasty West African staple comes in countless variations, tastes and textures that work with a wide variety of regional flavors. We all have our favorites: the fufu that we think works best with a certain stew or for a certain time of day, and we all know that one weird person who eats their's with a fork—like seriously, why? Perhaps you've never tried fufu and you're looking for a good and easy recipe to try. Or maybe you were wondering "what is fufu?" Whatever the case may be, we've got you covered.

Fufu, which is believed to have originated in modern-day Ghana, is commonly made by pounding starchy food crops such as cassava, yam, plantain and others with hot water. It's eaten throughout the West African region and in several Caribbean countries including Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

In this short guide, we list some of the most common types of fufu, and by "fufu" we mean any hot starch, ground or mashed, cooked over heat and formed into a rich paste, generally eaten by hand with stew or soups. For the purpose of this guide we also includes East and Southern African versions, as well, though we completely understand if you don't categorize your nshima, sadza or pap as fufu.

Below we give you a guide to different types of fufu from across the continent, links to recipes on how to make them, and offer some pairing suggestions. Enjoy!