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Though I haven’t quite been sold on the whole TikTok thing yet, the bite-sized video app is doing wonders for spreading knowledge of Black food history, sharing the joy in discovering the marvels of Asian food, and yes, showing us dubious things like tortilla wrap hacks. Now it’s introducing the Internet to the West African staple, fufu. PRI’s The World has a primer.

Fufu is a spongy dough made of cassava, white yams, or plantains, and it’s eaten primarily with lunch and dinner. But this isn’t an easy food to make: it takes some muscle. “It’s elbow work,” Ghanaian-American chef and former Top Chef contestant Eric Adjepong told The World. “Whether you’re using cassava or plantain or a combination of both, they have to be steamed. And then, you have to work the dough.”