Abstract
Fermented dairy products can be rich in beneficial microbes and one such product with potential is mabisi. Mabisi is a traditional fermented milk product from Zambia made through spontaneous fermentation of raw milk at ambient temperature using a calabash (gourd), clay pot, plastic or metal container. The fermentation takes about 48 hours after which the product is stirred and ready for consumption. This study was aimed at determining the types of production methods of mabisi and identifying the critical production process parameters. A survey was conducted using interviews and observations to determine the existing production practices/technologies and to capture indigenous knowledge on mabisi production in nine provinces of Zambia. We found seven different production methods which we coined; tonga, thick-tonga, illa, barotse, backslopping, cooked and creamy types. Interestingly, the tonga-type mabisi was produced throughout the country by different ethnic groups. The main process parameters were found to be fermentation time and temperature, type of containers, presence/absence of backslopping, agitation, heating and cooling, removal of whey and addition of raw milk. And further found that mabisi is a versatile product consumed with a wide variety of foods. This basic information is crucial for production process optimisation and microbial communities dynamics studies.
Highlights
Most fermented food products found on the market originate from traditional recipes that have evolved and have been optimised over the years
Out of the 537 respondents, 76% were male and 24% were female mainly because mabisi is largely produced by the households that own cattle (93%) which mostly belong to the men
The milk is incubated outside the house in the shade but the Focus group discussions (FGDs) revealed that a cold waterbath may be used during the hot months of September–November (20–30 ̊C)
Summary
Most fermented food products found on the market originate from traditional recipes that have evolved and have been optimised over the years. A good example is cheese of which the production can be traced back to 5,500 BC in present day Poland, where filtering clay pots were found with remnants of milk fat, [1, 2]. The production of fermented milk products has from that time evolved in different regions and countries in Europe leading to various specific types of cheeses for example Parmesan cheese from Parma in Italy, Swiss cheese from Switzerland, Gouda from The Netherlands, Brie from France and Cheddar from the UK.
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