Burukutu is an alcoholic beverage, brewed from the grains of

Guinea corn ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethanol produ ...

('' Sorghum bicolor'') and millet (''Pennisetum glaucum''). The alcoholic beverage is often produced in Tropical African countries such as

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and Burundi as one of the major traditional and local

alcoholic drinks An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...

. It is commonly consumed in Northern Guinea savanna region of Nigeria,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, and

Republic of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burki ...

Production

Burukutu production has many processes depending on the African country in particular or the ethnic regions, but five basic stages have been known to be consistent all through. (Daniel, 2022). The five basic stages include: steeping, malting, mashing, fermentation, and maturation. The production begins by malting, which involves the conversion of the Guinea corn or millet grains into malt and this takes place on a malting floor. This process is followed by steeping, which involves the soaking of the grains in water for at least three days to allow the grain to absorb moisture and to begin to sprout. When the grain has absorbed enough moisture, it is transferred to the malting floor, where it is constantly turned over for around five days while it is air-dried. This procedure is followed by mashing in which the milled grain known as the "

grain bill Mash ingredients, mash bill, mashbill, or grain bill are the materials that brewers use to produce the wort that they then ferment into alcohol. Mashing is the act of creating and extracting fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and flavor co ...

" (malted grain) is mixed with water known as "liquor" and heating the mixture. This process allows the

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

s in the grain bill to decompose the starch in the grain into sugars (maltose) to form a

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort als ...

. The product is allowed to

ferment Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

using the sugar fungi form of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

and allow maturation for 2 days or 48 hours. In Nigeria particularly in Kebbi state, Guinea corn is used in place of millet or sorghum in other places due to its sweeter taste and thicker consistency. Malting proceeds and the corn is grounded. The grounded corn is mixed with water and the solution homogenised. The solution is left to ferment for a day or two depending on how well organoleptic properties and fermentation process are considered. The fermented corn is cooked and drained into another bowl when cooled. Adjuncts like Garri can be added but part of another batch of the grounded corn called a greul is added to introduce wild strains from malted corn and give a consistent flavour. The gruel and cooked fermented corn are mixed together and boiled once more. Burukutu is cooled, the next day and served to customers. Overall, the process of Burukutu production takes a period of 7 days so local producers have a batch fermentation system to keep up with their growing consumers in the North (Daniel, 2022).

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References

{{reflist, 30em African drinks Nigerian drinks Nigerian distilled drinks

Production

Gallery

See also

References