Almost three years ago, shortly after my mother, Iya Yusuf, moved to the United States, she tasted my cooking and said, “It doesn’t taste like it does back home.”
I disagreed. I was making the same dishes with what I believed were the same ingredients. To me, the flavors tasted just as I remembered.
Then she said something I’ll never forget: “Give me a couple of weeks to have the ingredients sent from Nigeria. Then you’ll understand.”
She was right.
When those ingredients arrived, and we cooked with them, I tasted something I hadn’t experienced in more than a decade. Familiar flavors brought memories rushing back—and made me realize how much I had forgotten. Over the years, my palate had quietly adapted to what was available. Without noticing, I had begun to remember the taste of home differently.
I wondered how many other Nigerians and Africans living far from home had experienced the same gradual shift. How many of us were missing familiar flavors without even realizing it?
Iya Yusuf’s Pantry grew from that awakening. My mother and I wanted to share the ingredients and foods that reconnect us with our roots, our memories, and one another.
Perhaps you’ve felt this too. Sometimes it happens through food; sometimes through a language, a tradition, or a familiar way of life. We adapt, and pieces of what once felt like home slowly become distant.
For us, the journey back began with a meal. Through our pantry, we hope to share that sense of rediscovery with you.
