Why Many Nigerians Don’t Measure Ingredients (And It Always Works)

If you’ve ever watched an average Nigerian cook and asked, “How much did you put?” you already know the answer you’ll get.

“Just look at it.”
“Add small.”
“You’ll know when it’s enough.”

No measuring cups. No teaspoons. No counting grams. Yet the food always comes out right. Rich. Balanced. Familiar. So how does this work?

Cooking by Memory, Not Measurement

Most Nigerians didn’t learn cooking from recipe books. We learned by watching. Standing in the kitchen while our mothers cooked. Being sent to stir the pot. Tasting soup from a spoon and being told, “What do you think?”

Over time, your eyes learn portions. Your nose learns timing. Your tongue learns balance. You don’t need to measure pepper because you already know how much heat your household can take. You don’t need to measure palm oil because you know how thick you want the soup to look.

Ingredients That Speak for Themselves

Also, Nigerian ingredients are bold. Palm oil announces itself the moment it hits heat. Crayfish doesn’t whisper. Ogbono will draw whether you measure it or not. Egusi will thicken when it’s ready.

When ingredients are strong and familiar, you don’t need exact numbers. You respond to texture. You watch the color change. You listen to the pot. You stop cooking by rules and start cooking by instinct.

Taste As You Go Is the Real Secret

Nigerian cooking is interactive. You don’t cook everything and then taste at the end. You taste while cooking. You adjust while cooking.

Too thick? Add small water.
Too light? Add seasoning.
Needs more depth? Crayfish.
Needs body? Palm oil.

That constant checking is why it works. 

Why It Still Works Abroad

Even outside Nigeria, Nigerians still cook this way. In apartments. In new kitchens. With different stoves. Why?

Because the knowledge is internal. The hands remember. The senses remember. And now that African ingredients are more accessible, the taste still comes out right.

When you have the right palm oil, the right garri, the right crayfish, the right fish, your instincts still work. The food still listens to you.

The Confidence Comes With Time

Nobody starts this way. At first, everyone measures. Everyone worries. Everyone checks recipes.

But after cooking jollof ten times. After making egusi over and over. After correcting mistakes. Something clicks.

You stop asking “how much” and start asking “how does it taste?”

That’s when you know you’ve crossed over.

Final Thoughts

Nigerians don’t measure ingredients because cooking for us is not mathematics. It’s relationship. With food. With memory. With people.

And that’s why it always works.

Because when you cook with understanding, attention, and the right ingredients, the pot will always cooperate.

And if you ever need those ingredients, you know where to find them.

At My Sasun African Market, we make sure you have what your hands already know how to use.