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Cereals and bread from Northern Benin

Sagagnèga (fermented cereal porridge)sagagnèga

Sagagnèga is a smooth fermented porridge from northern Benin, made from a dough of maize, sorghum or millet that is left to ferment on its own. It is one of the porridges eaten cold, and it is strongly marketed in Copargo commune.

Fully documentedCereals and bread

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe surveys give no fixed amounts.
Cereal (maize, millet or sorghum, or a mix of two), made into a dough[karimou2022]
Lemon (a few producers)Added to the dough for the fermentation and to keep it[karimou2022]
Starterspontaneous
Start
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What changes: A dough is made from maize, millet or sorghum

Step 1 of 5
Make a dough from the cereal
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: cereal dough.

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

Sagagnèga is a smooth fermented porridge from northern Benin, made from a dough of maize, sorghum or millet that is left to ferment on its own. It is one of the porridges eaten cold, and it is strongly marketed in Copargo commune. Lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
AciditypH up to 5Measured[jfq2024]Make the smooth porridge and serve it cold

What makes this one different

Among the eight fermented porridges of northern Benin, sagagnèga is one of the smooth ones and is eaten cold. Apkan is also smooth and cold, fourra is lumpy and cold, and koko, bobossou, gbangba, akloui and bita are eaten hot.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Sagagnèga with lemonA few producers add lemon to the dough for the fermentation and to keep it longer.

Safety

In one study all eight northern Benin fermented porridges were below pH 5. The study's abstract says E. coli, coliforms and moulds were not present in all porridges. Sagagnèga is eaten cold. FDA's general advice on Staphylococcus aureus is that foods handled a lot and held slightly above refrigeration temperature for long are often involved, and that heat does not destroy the toxin once it has formed. The sources give no storage time for sagagnèga.

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.
Process times
The sources we found give no figure for how long any of its steps take.
  1. [karimou2022] Karimou R., Sina H., Agossou E.A. et al. 2022, Typology of fermented porridges and socio-demographic characteristics of respondents in the northern part of Benin, Asian Food Science Journal 21(12):1–12, doi:10.9734/afsj/2022/v21i12601paper
  2. [jfq2024] Karimou R., Noumavo A.D.P., Aboudou K., Boya B., Assouma F.F., Salami H.A., Konmy B.B.S., Houngbo H.Y., Adjanohoun A., Baba-Moussa L., Sina H. 2024, Nutritional and microbial qualities of fermented cereal-based porridges produced in northern Benin, Journal of Food Quality 2024:7200190, doi:10.1155/2024/7200190 (abstract)paper
  3. [fda-bbb] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bad Bug Book, Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins, 2nd ed. (chapter on Staphylococcus aureus; general hazard, not specific to sagagnèga)gov