Because these main components are inexpensive, the dish became common for many residents in Barbados' early colonial history.
In Angola, at similar meal is made with yellow or white cornmeal and called 'funge' and in Ghana, a similar meal of fermented corn or maize flour eaten with okra stew and fish is known as banku, a favourite dish of the Ga tribe in Accra.
A cou-cou stick is made of wood, and has a long, flat rectangular shape like a 1-foot-long (30 cm) miniature cricket bat.
Traditionally, cou-cou is served on Fridays at homes across Barbados and local food establishments.
In Trinidad and Tobago, cou-cou (or coo-coo) is often prepared alongside callaloo and either stewed or fried fish.