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Other from Sudan

Sigda (fermented sesame oil-cake, Sudan)sigda

Sigda is a traditional Sudanese food made by fermenting the cake left after pressing sesame oil. Lactic acid bacteria, mainly a Streptococcus, sour the cake to pH 4.0 within three days, and the product is then dried.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Sigda itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Kawal (fermented sicklepod leaves), the closest documented vegetables ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Sigda.

Short entryOther3 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo amounts or household method are given in the abstract read.
Sesame oilseed cakeThe cake left after oil is pressed from sesame (Sesamum indicum)[Elfaki1991]

Total time across the steps of Kawal (fermented sicklepod leaves): 17 days – 33 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: fresh sicklepod leaves, sorted by hand

Step 1 of 4 · steps of Kawal (fermented sicklepod leaves)
Pick and sort the leaves
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus

The leaves are picked when the plant is fully grown in the rainy season, and petals, other leaves and insect-damaged leaves are picked out. The leaves are not washed.

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

Sigda is a traditional Sudanese food made by fermenting the cake left after pressing sesame oil. Lactic acid bacteria, mainly a Streptococcus, sour the cake to pH 4.0 within three days, and the product is then dried. Made in 2 steps over 3 days. The longest step, ferment the sesame cake, takes 3 days (Elfaki A.E 1991). Streptococcus sp. and Yeasts Candida sp. and Saccharomyces sp. do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 daysMeasured[Elfaki1991]Ferment the sesame cake
AciditypH 4Measured[Elfaki1991]Ferment the sesame cake

What makes this one different

Sigda is an acid, lactic seed ferment. Elfaki and colleagues found it quite unlike the traditional West African oilseed ferments and unlike kawal, the Sudanese ferment of Cassia leaves, in both its microbes and its products.

Related ferments

Safety

The mixture fell to pH 4.0 after 3 days in the study [Elfaki1991].

History and sources

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

  1. [Elfaki1991] Elfaki A.E., Dirar H.A., Collins M.A., Harper D.B. 1991, Biochemical and microbiological investigations of sigda, a Sudanese fermented food derived from sesame oilseed cake, J Sci Food Agric 57(3):351–365, doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740570306 (abstract)paper