Akamu (or ''Ogi'') is a

fermented 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 p ...

cereal pudding and popular street food from

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 ...

, typically made from

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, sorghum, or millet. Traditionally, the grains are soaked in water for up to three days, before

wet-milling Wet-milling is a process in which feed material is steeped in water, with or without sulfur dioxide, to soften the seed kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel ...

and sieving to remove husks. The filtered cereal is then allowed to ferment for up to three days until sour. It is then boiled into a pap , or cooked to make a creamy pudding also known as Agidi or Eko. It may be eaten with

moin moin Moin-moin or moimoi is a steamed or boiled bean pudding made from a mixture of washed and peeled black-eyed beans, often combined with onions and fresh ground red peppers (usually a combination of bell peppers, chili or Scotch bonnet). It ...

, akara/acarajé or bread depending on individual choice. In

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

the porridge is known as uji (not to be confused with

ugali Ugali or Posho or sima (for others, see ) is a type of maize meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. ...

) and is generally made with millet and sorghum. It is commonly served for breakfast and dinner, but often has a thinner gravy-like consistency. The fermentation of ''ogi'' is performed by various

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped ( bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

including ''

Lactobacillus ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus of Gram-positive, aerotolerant anaerobes or microaerophilic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. Until 2020, the genus ''Lactobacillus'' comprised over 260 phylogenetically, ecologically, and metabolically div ...

'' spp and various

yeasts 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 constitut ...

including ''

Saccharomyces ''Saccharomyces'' is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. ''Saccharomyces'' is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means ''sugar fungus''. Many members of this genus are considered very important in f ...

'' and '' Candida'' spp.

References

Fermented foods African cuisine Staple foods Beninese cuisine Nigerian cuisine Yoruba cuisine {{africa-cuisine-stub

See also

References