In Nigeria, the usual first weaning food is called “ogi”, “pap”, “akamu”, or “Koko” and is made from maize, millet, or guinea corn. In most parts of Nigeria, mothers introduce the thin gruel to infants at three to six months of age.
The baby is fed on demand with a spoon or a cup, although in certain parts of the country, a few mothers use the traditional forced hand-feeding method.
The traditional preparation of Akamu involves soaking the corn kernels in water for 1-3 days followed by wet milling and sieving to remove the bran, hulls, and germ. The pomace is retained on the sieve and later discarded as animal feed while the filtrate is fermented (for 2-3 days) to yield Akamu, which is sour, white starchy sediment. Ogi is often marketed as a wet material wrapped in leaves or transparent polythene bags.
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple food in many parts of the world including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
In Nigeria and some other West African countries, it is traditionally transformed by submerged fermentation to Pap – a complementary weaning food for infants and young children, convenient food for the sick, convalescent, and elderly, or quick breakfast mostly for those living in rural areas characterized by low income.
READ ALSO: NIGERIAN INDIGENOUS FERMENTED FOOD AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Pap is preferred by nearly 150million West Africans mainly due to the ease of preparation of this gruel and the numerous associated nutritional benefits including high calorie, minerals, vitamins, and probiotic contents, The rich probiotic contents of Pap and other traditionally fermented cereal foods result from the indigenous beneficial microbial flora that play significant roles during cereal fermentation to yield the final product.
Furthermore, fermentation provides a variety of foods and contributes to food preservation. Fermentation during Pap production occurs in two distinct stages:(1)steeping of maize before obtaining Pap gruel and (2) souring of fermented ogi.
Several authors have reported on Pap production from various varieties of maize (white and yellow), from guinea corn, millet, and sorghum after steeping for either 24, 48, 72, or 96 h. The usual practice in the local or traditional setting, however, is that maize is steeped for at least 48h and may extend to 96h.
To understand the ecology of species and promote biotechnology through beneficial strain selection for improved Pap production, microbial communities associated with spontaneous maize fermentation to Pap have been characterized and studied.
TRADITIONAL METHOD OF PROCESSING PAP
Maize (Zea mays) grains
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Sort and clean
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Wash with clean water
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Soak in clean water for 24-48 h
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Drain off water
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Wet milled (using a commercial milling machine)
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Wet sieve (using clean muslin cloth)
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Allowed to sediment (24 – 48 h, optional)
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Decant
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Ogi slurry
By Akubuo Chigaemezu
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