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Fish and seafood from Chad

Salangasalanga

Salanga is Chadian fish fermented without salt and then sun-dried. Fish such as Alestes and Nile perch are scaled, gutted and washed, left to ferment for some hours, or simply fermented as they dry, and dried for several days on mats, grass or lines. Well dried, it keeps at least three months.

Fully documentedFish and seafood3.1 days – 8 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe FAO survey describes the method but gives no amounts; no salt is used, because earlier salt-curing trials failed on the cost and scarcity of salt.
Alestes, Nile perch and similar fish, scaled, gutted and washed; large fish split along the backFish unsuitable for smoking are sometimes used[fao1992]
Nile perch (Lates niloticus), dressed the same wayNamed with Alestes in the survey table; the survey's photographs also show Clarias angularis being dried[fao1992]

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 days – 8 days

Start
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What changes: The fish are scaled, gutted and washed, and large fish are split open along the back

Step 1 of 4
Scale, gut and wash; split large fish
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Salanga is Chadian fish fermented without salt and then sun-dried. Fish such as Alestes and Nile perch are scaled, gutted and washed, left to ferment for some hours, or simply fermented as they dry, and dried for several days on mats, grass or lines. Well dried, it keeps at least three months. Made in 4 steps over 3.1 days – 8 days. The longest step, sun-dry on mats, grass, sticks or lines, takes 3–7 days (Essuman K.M. 1992). Salt is 0 % (Essuman K.M. 1992).

Key numbers
Main step3–7 daysReported[fao1992]Sun-dry on mats, grass, sticks or lines
Salt0 %Reported[fao1992]Ferment before drying

What makes this one different

Salanga is fermented and dried with no salt at all, one of three African methods the FAO survey names, alongside salted and dried, and salted but not dried, fish. Along the lower Chari and Logone in Cameroon the word salanga now means any sun-dried fish, as against smoked fish (banda), and it is made from Alestes dentex and A. baremose split in two lengthwise and hung on lines to dry [toussoumna2015].

Related ferments

Safety

The FAO survey warns that not using salt results in uncontrolled fermentation. The fish muscle becomes ideal for the growth of pathogenic organisms, the product may decay within a short period, and such products could pose a health hazard to consumers. It adds that fish left uncovered while drying attract blowflies, especially unsalted fish. The product is prone to insect attack, and some processors indiscriminately apply insecticides such as Lindane, Gammalin 20, Shelltox, DDT and Gardona to it. The survey calls this practice a health hazard to consumers (Essuman 1992).

History and sources

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

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [fao1992] Essuman K.M. 1992, Fermented fish in Africa, a study on processing, marketing and consumption, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329, Rome, sections on traditional fermentation methods (Chad, salanga)gov
  2. [fao1992-hygiene] Essuman K.M. 1992, Fermented fish in Africa, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329, section 3.9, Health hazards and hygienic aspects of fermented fish processinggov
  3. [khongthaw2026] Khongthaw B., Dladla M., Chauhan P.K., Dulta K., Kumar V., Oneyaka H. et al. 2026, Fermented fish products, a comprehensive overview of traditional processing techniques, varieties, and their health benefits, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 25:e70457, doi 10.1111/1541-4337.70457 (names salanga among African fermented fish)paper
  4. [toussoumna2015] Toussoumna E. 2015, Gestion durable des ressources halieutiques dans la retenue d'eau de Maga (Mayo-Danay, extrême-nord Cameroun), Master 2 thesis, Université de Ngaoundéré, section 2.2.1.2 and note 41paper