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Meat from India

Sa-umsa-um

Sa-um is fermented pork fat from Mizoram. Pig caul fat is minced, boiled with a little water for about 15 minutes, packed into a dry bottle gourd and left 3 to 5 days in the winter sun, or 2 to 3 days beside the cooking stove in the monsoon. It turns into a semi-dry, gummy, spongy fat with a distinct astringency.

Fully documentedMeat2 days – 5 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedA household preparation with no fixed amounts; the study describes the method but gives no weights.
Pig caul fatFrom the butcher within 6 h of slaughter; subcutaneous fat when caul fat is not available[demandal2018]
WaterA minimum amount, boiled off during rendering[demandal2018]
Dry bottle gourd (um)The ripening container (Lagenaria siceraria)[demandal2018][lalrohlui2021]
Starternone added (the study says no starter culture is inoculated for sa-um)

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 days – 5 days

Start
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What changes: Fresh caul fat from the butcher is minced

Step 1 of 4
Mince caul fat bought within 6 h of slaughter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Kocuria
Lactobacillus
Bacillus coagulans
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

At a glance

Sa-um is fermented pork fat from Mizoram. Pig caul fat is minced, boiled with a little water for about 15 minutes, packed into a dry bottle gourd and left 3 to 5 days in the winter sun, or 2 to 3 days beside the cooking stove in the monsoon. It turns into a semi-dry, gummy, spongy fat with a distinct astringency. Made in 4 steps over 2 days – 5 days. The longest step, ripen in the sun or by the stove, takes 2–5 days (De Mandal S 2018). Kocuria, Lactobacillus, Bacillus coagulans, Collinsella and Coprococcus, the genera the authors name as possibly involved in the fermentation does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–5 daysReported[demandal2018]Ripen in the sun or by the stove
AciditypH 6.6Measured[demandal2018]Ripen in the sun or by the stove

What makes this one different

Sa-um is rendered fat ripened briefly in a gourd; it barely acidifies (pH 6.6) and is mostly a dehydrated fat. Faroese garnatálg, another fat-only ferment, is sheep gut fat air-dried and ripened in a wind-swept shed.

Related ferments

Safety

Sa-um barely acidifies. Its bacteria are dominated by Clostridium, including C. tetani and C. perfringens, and the study predicted antibiotic-resistance and pro-inflammatory genes. A case-control study in Mizoram linked sa-um eating with type 2 diabetes (odds ratio 18.98), an association, not proof of cause. A 2025 Mizoram diet review also lists sa-um among traditional foods linked to stomach carcinoma and type 2 diabetes.

Hazards the sources name: Clostridium tetani (21.29 %, the top OTU in genus Clostridium) and C. perfringens (0.31 %); Clostridium was the largest genus (7.61 %).

History and sources

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

Eaten in Northeast India for several decades (De Mandal et al. 2018).

  1. [demandal2018] De Mandal S., Singh S.S., Muthukumaran R.B., Thanzami K. et al. 2018, Metagenomic analysis and the functional profiles of traditional fermented pork fat 'sa-um' of Northeast India, AMB Express 8:163paper
  2. [lalrohlui2021] Lalrohlui F., Ghatak S., Zohmingthanga J., Hruaii V., Kumar N.S. 2021, Fermented pork fat (Sa-um) and lifestyle risk factors as potential indicators for type 2 diabetes among the Mizo population, Northeast India, Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 40:32paper
  3. [patrick2025] Patrick D., Ramaswamy J., Palanisamy T., Raman R., Nedungadi P. 2025, Assessing dietary patterns, lifestyle practices, and forest foods with bioactive potential to address micronutrient deficiencies and noncommunicable diseases in Northeast India, Nutrients 17(20):3311paper