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Fermentation Atlas

Soy and legumes from Eastern Nepal

Kinemaकिनेमा

fresh kinema (shelf life 2–3 days summer, max 1 week winter) or dried kinema; always fried into curry with onion, tomato, turmeric, chilli — frying is thought to drive off ammonia [T2015]. Sold in local haats by volume (150–200 g silver mug), packed in Ficus hookeriana ('nevara') leaves tied with straw [T2015]. Made in 7 steps over 3.4 days – 6.5 days. The longest step, pack in fern-lined bamboo basket, cover with jute sack, ferment above the kitchen oven, takes 24 h – 3 days (Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean…) and runs at 25–40 °C (Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean…). Salt is 1 % (Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean…). Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 3 daysSourced[T2015]Pack in fern-lined bamboo basket, cover with jute sack, ferment above the kitchen oven
Temperature25–40 °CSourced[T2015]Pack in fern-lined bamboo basket, cover with jute sack, ferment above the kitchen oven
Salt1 %Sourced[T2015][T2024]Add firewood ash
AciditypH at least 8Sourced[T2024]Pack in fern-lined bamboo basket, cover with jute sack, ferment above the kitchen oven
DocumentedSoy and legumes3.4 days – 6.5 daysMore soy and legumesMore from IndiaMore from NepalMore from Bhutan

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
small (~6 mm) yellow local soybean in Sikkim/Darjeeling; dark brown/black local cultivar in eastern Nepal; small-seeded beans in Bhutan
Starter: spontaneous (fern, leaves, basket, ash); a patented pulverised B. subtilis starter exists (Indian patent 25346, 2012)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.4 days – 6.5 days

Start
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Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: Soybeans are washed and soak overnight

Step 1 of 7
Select, wash, soak
Time
8–10 h
Sourced
Temperature
ambient
Unconfirmed
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts
Bacillus subtilis
Enterococcus faecium

Output: soaked beans.

Flavour
raw
Texture
swollen
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

native flora

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

Variants

  • Eastern Nepal kinemadark brown/black soybeans; Ficus and banana leaves instead of fern [T2015]
  • Starter kinema (pulverised starter)B. subtilis KK2:B10 grown in soybean-extract broth (pH 7), dried 70 °C 10 h, milled; 1 % added to autoclaved beans; B. subtilis MTCC 2756 monoculture judged best (nutty, highly sticky) [T2015]
  • Kinema curry, kinema pickle, kinema soupculinary forms [T2024]

Safety

Animal studies found no toxicity for the B. subtilis Tamang strain [T2024]. B. cereus is among isolates [TKin]. Yeast growth is linked to rancidity [T2015].

Hazards the sources name: B. cereus.

History and sources

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

Folklore dates kinema to the Kirat dynasty of Limbuwan (~600 BCE per T2024; ~3000 years per TKin); Limboo legend says they domesticated soybean ('chembi'). First Western report Batra & Millner 1976 [SIC-natto3].

  1. [T2015] Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean foods of India. J Ethnic Foods 2015;2:8-17. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2015.02.003paper
  2. [T2024] Tamang JP. Unveiling kinema: blending tradition and science in the Himalayan fermented soya delicacy. J Ethnic Foods 2024;11:29paper
  3. [TKin] Tamang JP. "Kinema" sheet, IMiLI child-centric microbiology education frameworkpaper
  4. [Chettri2016] Chettri R, Bhutia MO, Tamang JP. PGA-producing Bacillus species isolated from kinema. Front Microbiol 2016;7:971paper