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Fermentation Atlas

Meat from Northern Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad

Kilishikilishi (Hausa)

Kilishi is a boundary entry, not a microbial ferment. Thin sheets of lean beef are sun-dried, soaked in a spiced groundnut paste, dried again and briefly roasted, so it keeps for months by drying, not by fermentation. Made in 5 steps over 13 h – 14 h. The longest step, first sun-drying, takes 7 h (Ogunsola O.O 2008) and runs at 29–31 °C (Ogunsola O.O 2008).

Key numbers
Main step7 hReported[ogunsola2008]First sun-drying
Temperature29–31 °CReported[ogunsola2008]First sun-drying

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe infusion slurry for one study, in kg per 100 kg of slurry; dried beef slices are soaked in it. Traditional makers vary the spices.
28.5 kgDefatted groundnut paste[ogunsola2008]
36.2 kgWater[ogunsola2008]
8.4 kgOnion[ogunsola2008]
5.8 kgStock seasoning (monosodium glutamate)[ogunsola2008]
3.8 kgGinger[ogunsola2008]
3.5 kgSugar[ogunsola2008]
3.4 kgBlack pepper (Piper guineense)[ogunsola2008]
2.6 kgCloves[ogunsola2008]
2.1 kgAlligator pepper[ogunsola2008]
1.9 kg eachRed pepper and sweet pepper[ogunsola2008]
0.7 kg eachSalt and curry[ogunsola2008]
0.4 kgAfrican nutmeg[ogunsola2008]
0.1 kgGarlic[ogunsola2008]
Starternone

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 h – 14 h

Start
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What changes: Lean beef is cut into thin continuous sheets along the grain

Step 1 of 5
Slice the beef into thin sheets
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: thin meat sheets.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Kilishi has no fermentation step. It is related to jerky and biltong, but its sheets are dried twice with a thick groundnut and spice coating in between and then roasted.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Pork kilishiMade from pork in one study; scored higher for colour and juiciness.
  • Fish kilishiNile perch slices coated with groundnut or tigernut dough in a Sokoto study.

Safety

One study found aflatoxin levels in kilishi far above safe limits and traced them to contaminated groundnut, not to mould growth on the meat. The same study found that a 10 % potassium sorbate treatment gave some protection against mould.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus spp. and Proteus spp. (isolated from stored kilishi); Aflatoxins from contaminated groundnut.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Igene and colleagues described kilishi's origin as "lost in antiquity" in 1990, when they published one of the first studies of its traditional processing.

  1. [ogunsola2008] Ogunsola O.O., Omojola A.B. 2008, Qualitative evaluation of Kilishi prepared from beef and pork, African Journal of Biotechnology 7(11):1753–1758paper
  2. [igene1990] Igene J.O., Farouk M.M., Akanbi C.T. 1990, Preliminary studies on the traditional processing of Kilishi, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 50(1) (abstract)paper
  3. [tanya2001] Tanya V.N. et al. 2001, A microbiological and nutritional evaluation of the West African dried meat product, Kilishi, Journal of Food Technology in Africa 6(4):126–129 (abstract)paper
  4. [magawata2014] Magawata I., Faruk S.U. 2014, Effect of groundnut and tigernut doughs on the quality of 'kilishi' Lates niloticus, Food Science and Quality Management (IISTE) (abstract)paper
  5. [onwuzuruike2022] Onwuzuruike U.A., Ndife J., Okwunodulu I.N. 2022, Influence of meat type on processed meat (kilishi) quality, FUDMA Journal of Sciences (abstract; beef, chicken, chevon and mutton)paper
  6. [wp] Wikipedia, Kilishi (outline only)wiki