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Sauces and condiments from Nigeria

Otiru (fermented African yam bean condiment, Nigeria)otiru

Otiru is an iru-like seasoning made by fermenting African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) seeds. The seeds are soaked, dehulled and heated (autoclaved in the lab study), then the cotyledons ferment for several days as Bacillus bacteria break down the protein and the mass turns alkaline. The process numbers here come from laboratory studies; no traditional recipe with measured amounts was found.

Fully documentedSauces and condiments5.3 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe traditional make has no recorded amounts. The amounts given come from a laboratory trial with about 100 g of dehulled seeds per flask.
African yam bean seedsSorted, washed, soaked and dehulled by pressing between the fingers[okolie2022]
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens starter0.005 or 0.0075 g broth per g seed (lab trial)Only in starter trials; the product is mostly made by natural fermentation[okolie2022][okolie2023][jeffagboola2007]
Starternatural fermentation; starter trials with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis

Total time across the recorded steps: 5.3 days

Start
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Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: The washed African yam beans soak in water and swell

Step 1 of 4
Wash and soak the seeds
Time
6 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus licheniformis
B. subtilis
B. amyloliquefaciens
Bacillus

Output: soaked seeds.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
swollen
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

Otiru is an iru-like seasoning made by fermenting African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) seeds. The seeds are soaked, dehulled and heated (autoclaved in the lab study), then the cotyledons ferment for several days as Bacillus bacteria break down the protein and the mass turns alkaline. The process numbers here come from laboratory studies; no traditional recipe with measured amounts was found. Made in 4 steps over 5.3 days. The longest step, ferment in a flask, takes 5 days (Okolie P.I 2022) and runs at 28–32 °C (Okolie P.I 2022). Bacillus licheniformis, B. pumilus and B. subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5 daysReported[okolie2022]Ferment in a flask
Temperature28–32 °CReported[okolie2022]Ferment in a flask
AciditypH 6.8–8.8Measured[okolie2022]Ferment in a flask

What makes this one different

Otiru is an iru-type condiment made from African yam bean seeds, not from locust bean. Owoh is made from fermented cottonseed, and an owoh-type product has also been made from African yam bean.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Owoh-type African yam bean productA solid-substrate African yam bean ferment developed as an owoh-type product.
  • Starter-fermented otiruMade with a single Bacillus amyloliquefaciens or B. subtilis culture in the lab.

Safety

Staphylococcus (species not given) was found in an owoh-type African yam bean ferment.

History and sources

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

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
  1. [okolie2022] Okolie P.I., Okolie E.C., Ogundimu S.A., Agboola K.A., Ojinnaka M.C. 2022, Effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens culture concentrations on microbial load, physicochemical and sensory properties of iru-type condiment from African yam bean seeds, Food and Environment Safety 21(1):47–61, doi:10.4316/fens.2022.006paper
  2. [okolie2023] Okolie P.I., Itohan M.E., Okolie E.C., Obadina A. 2023, Amino acid profile and protein quality of starter cultures fermented African yam bean seed condiment, Croatian Journal of Food Science and Technology 15(1):28–36, doi:10.17508/CJFST.2023.15.1.04 (abstract)paper
  3. [ogbonna2001] Ogbonna D.N., Sokari T.G., Achinewhu S.C. 2001, Development of an owoh-type product from African yam beans (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) seeds by solid substrate fermentation, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 56:183–194, PMID 11318507 (abstract)paper
  4. [jeffagboola2007] Jeff-Agboola Y.A. 2007, Microorganisms associated with natural fermentation of African yam bean (Sphenostylis sternocarpa Harms) seeds for the production of otiru, Research Journal of Microbiology 2(11):816–823, doi:10.3923/jm.2007.816.823 (title and record via Crossref; full text not read)paper