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Fish and seafood from Burundi

Ndagalandagala

Ndagala are tiny clupeid fish (Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae), sun-dried in Burundi without any salt. This is a boundary entry, a dried fish rather than a true ferment. Fermentation is not the aim, but a slight fermentation happens while the fish dry, and it is stronger when cold weather or rain slows the drying.

Fully documentedFish and seafood2 days – 5 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhole fish only; no salt or other ingredient is added, so there are no amounts.
Whole Limnothrissa miodonNo salt and no other preparation. In another passage the same FAO survey calls ndagala Rastrineabola tanganicae and gives dagaa as Limnothrissa miodon, so its species naming is not consistent.[fao-ftp329]
Whole Stolothrissa tanganicaeThe second tiny clupeid named as raw material for ndagala; these two species make up about 80 percent of Burundi's landed catch[fao-ftp329]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 days – 5 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: The fish go to drying without any preparation

Step 1 of 4
Land the catch
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: fresh whole fish with no preparation.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Ndagala are tiny clupeid fish (Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae), sun-dried in Burundi without any salt. This is a boundary entry, a dried fish rather than a true ferment. Fermentation is not the aim, but a slight fermentation happens while the fish dry, and it is stronger when cold weather or rain slows the drying. Made in 4 steps over 2 days – 5 days. The longest step, sun-dry on the ground or on raised racks, takes 2–5 days (Essuman K.M. 1992). Salt is 0 % (Essuman K.M. 1992).

Key numbers
Main step2–5 daysReported[fao-ftp329]Sun-dry on the ground or on raised racks
Salt0 %Reported[fao-ftp329]Sun-dry on the ground or on raised racks

What makes this one different

Ndagala uses no salt at all and is meant to be a dried fish; fermentation is only a side effect of slow drying. Salted West African ferments such as momone are fermented on purpose before drying.

Related ferments

Safety

Dried ndagala is open to insects and mould and must be re-dried from time to time. The main moulds found on it include Aspergillus flavus, and many A. flavus isolates from Burundian foods made aflatoxins in the lab. The same study found no aflatoxins in the foods it tested.

Hazards the sources name: Aspergillus flavus, A. niger and A. sydowi, the main moulds on dried unsalted ndagala; Aflatoxin-forming A. flavus; 37 of 95 A. flavus isolates from Burundian foods made aflatoxins, though none was found in the foods themselves.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Raised wire-mesh drying racks were introduced at Burundi's main landing centres through a sponsored project, as the FAO survey of 1992 reports. Salt is very expensive in Burundi because it is mainly imported.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [fao-ftp329] Essuman K.M. 1992, Fermented fish in Africa, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329, sections 3 and 3.7 (traditional methods, salting, drying)gov
  2. [fao-ftp329-drying] Essuman K.M. 1992, Fermented fish in Africa, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329, section 3.7 (drying equipment and packaging)gov
  3. [munimbazi1996] Munimbazi C., Bullerman L.B. 1996, Molds and mycotoxins in foods from Burundi, Journal of Food Protection 59(8):869–875, doi:10.4315/0362-028x-59.8.869 (abstract)paper