THE NIGERIAN WEDDING JELLOF RICE : a myth, a mindset or a reality.

"I went to a wedding, and they didn't serve jellof rice. So, I went home with my gift since we have all decided to be childish "    unknown.

The availability of jellof rice in the Nigerian wedding, can not be overemphasized. In fact, some people attend weddings weather they are invited or not, just to eat the jellof rice.

Different comedians have made jokes about the particular place you should seat, so as not to miss the wedding jellof rice. It has been observed that people who sit in front, are often the first to be served. But, there's been incidents where the people in front were not served. So some comedians have suggested that you seat in the middle. So that, if the ushers start serving from behind or from the front, you would not miss the special jellof rice.

Both the rich and the poor, struggle to have a taste of the wedding jellof rice. In every wedding in Nigeria, the availability of food, is the measure of the success of the wedding. Nobody who attends the Nigerian wedding, without eating jello rice comes back happy. In fact, to him, the wedding ceremony was a failure.

If you attend a Nigerian wedding for the first time, you'd think that people attended with an empty stomach. That's not the case. It is the case of wanting to eat the Jellof rice.

People say that there's a different taste that a wedding jellof rice has. Many people have tried to cook it at home but the taste was not the same.

"I love jellof rice. But everytime I tried to cook mine at at home, it never comes out like the wedding jellof rice " --Nigerian woman.

Another popular joke goes thus
"if you travel to another state for a wedding, and you don't get served jellof, what will you do?
The responder said "it's like the couple do not want to have children "

Even though there's a culture in Nigeria, that if you bring people together to a feast or a meeting, you should feed them, there's no specific food that they should be given. However, there's an unwritten rule about what guest should be served in a wedding ceremony... "jellof rice ".

Perhaps the unique taste comes from the fact that, it is cooked in a locally made gigantic aluminum pot or the fact that it is always prepared with firewood, or it is the fact that there's usually a particular kind of spice used, or the fact that the smoke from the firewood gives it a unique smokey grandma's food aroma.

In all this, TOMATOES is a very necessary ingredient in the preparation of jellof rice. And it is always the locally prepared tomatoes paste. Yes, Ovalz tomatoes has succeeded in bringing  this kind of paste in big jars. To make the cooking easier and to keep tradition alive.

Maybe all of this factors work together  to affect the unique taste of the wedding jellof rice.

Perhaps, it is psychological... The mind set. The way the mind works. The idea that it is jellof rice not prepared at home, but jellof rice prepared over firewood with love and joy for two people starting life afresh.

Written by Mary Jane

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THE BEST COFFEE IN NIGERIA

Over the years, lots and lots of Beverages have been introduced into the Nigerian market.  The Nigerian consumer, is faced with a lot of choices.

The choice of cocoa, processed cocoa, chocolate drinks, tea and malt drinks, are all available for the Nigerian consumer to choose from.

As much as all this things are available, the vibrant and energetic Nigerian wants more.

He is stylish, innovative, creative, energetic, passionate and idea driven. He wants to be alert, active, and always on the move.

This kick, push and extra energy to do more is what he craves for.  But sometimes, the search for this, or the ignorance of the existence of something that can give him that extra frustrated him.

The tea, cocoa, malt drinks and chocolate drinks, do not give him this extra.



But with Ovalz premium coffee, there's always an extra.
An extra flavor
An extra specialty
An extra push
An extra alert
An extra energy
An extra care to roast
An extra care to grind
An extra effort to package
An extra card to say thank you.
                  And
A little more extra of pure love from our hearts.
Because with our extras, you can do more. Be active, alert, alive, energetic, enthusiastic and just be you.

It is no surprise. Ovalz premium coffee is the best coffee in Nigeria.

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FOOD WASTE IN NIGERIA

The process of storing food is an ancient one. But the decision to store now, is an important one. Technology has made the process of producing food easier, faster, more efficient and more in quantity. So every farming season, there's an abundance of food. This trend tends to make the consumers lazy to store or save food.

This abundance of food, might not be what is experienced in other part of the world that is been ravaged by war, drought, famine and hunger.

Each year, when there's an abundance of food, in as much as we enjoy the availability of these food, let us think about all the other people who do not have the luxury of having these foods.

In Nigeria, even though there's an abundance of food in the harvesting season, there's always a scarcity that is experienced in the farming season.

This is as a result of lack of storage facilities. Our one problem is storing the abundance of food that we produce each year. From grains to fruits to vegetables to tubers, there's a high waste that is experienced every year.

One way that this can be stopped is if we all decide that all our foods should be stored and preserved naturally. So that we don't miss out on all the nutrients that this foods have in them.

Perhaps, when we begin, we will not only feed ourselves all year round, but we will have enough to sell to other nations of the world. Nations who are in dire need of the foods that we have in abundance.

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