African cuisine encompasses within its fold several nations, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan. The roots of North African cuisine can be traced back to the ancient empires of North Africa, particularly in Egypt, where many of the country's dishes and culinary traditions date back to antiquity. Over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages, while the Carthaginians introduced wheat and its by-product, semolina. The Berbers adapted semolina into couscous, one of the main staple foods. Olives and olive oil were introduced before
Semolina pudding pan. It is served warm or cold. The word "griș" may come from German similar to the English grit. Hungarians call this dish or "tejbedara", meaning "semolina into the milk". Usually cooked with generous amount of sugar, some butter and a pinch of salt, it is served warm either plain or sprinkled with cocoa powder, cinnamon sugar, sometimes with fresh or canned fruits, jam, vanilla, choco bits; modern additions include ice cream, spraycream, brown sugar, maple syrup, candied fruit, granola, pumpkin seeds etc. A similar but much thicker, pudding-like product, precooked and packaged as a store-bought convenience food is marketed