Amasi and Mageu: Expedition from ethnic Southern African foods to cosmopolitan markets

Fermentation is understood as the culture of microorganisms on a growth medium with a goal of producing a specific biochemical product. Fermented foods are advantageous as fermentation helps in preservation, flavour improvement, toxicity reduction and enhancement of the nutritional quality of the final product (Panda et al. 2014a, 2014b, Rolle and Satin 2002). The science of the involvement of microorganisms in fermentation of foods and beverages came to limelight with the discovery of live yeast cells in the production of wine from grape juice in the year 1857 by Louis Pasteur (Alba-Lois and Segal-Kischinevzky 2010). Traditional foods have specific nutritional and organoleptic properties depending upon the region of origin and the raw materials used (Nout 2003). However, out of the several traditional fermented food products, alcoholic beverages and lactic acid fermented food and beverages have been accepted worldwide 385in the modern times. The African continent has a wide range of traditional indigenous fermented foods embedded within the socio-cultural linkage. Several studies have been conducted to derive the mechanism of the development of indigenous fermented foods of Africa. Studies reveal that except for alcoholic beverages, the rest of the fermented foods of Africa contain probiotic bacterial strains—live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host (FAO/WHO 2002). Mostly the probiotic fermented products of Africa are non-alcoholic fermented cereals, fermented vegetables, fermented milk. Even within the continent, the indigenous products are prepared in different technologies and named differently.