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Fermentation Atlas

Soy and legumes from South-east Nigeria

Ugba / ukpaka (fermented African oil bean)ụgba

Fermented oil-bean slices eaten as abacha (cassava salad) with palm-oil dressing, or in soups. Protein 17.8–18.1 % and fat 40.9–41.2 % (dry basis); titratable acidity 0.11–0.13 % [Sanni2002]. Market samples carry 1.4 × 10^7 to 2.8 × 10^9 cfu/g [Sanni2002]. Made in 5 steps over 2.9 days – 12 days. The longest step, wrap in leaf packets and ferment, takes 2–10 days (Sanni A.I. et al. 2002) and runs at 28–32 °C. Salt is 1–2 % (Olasupo N.A 2016). Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus pumilus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–10 daysReported[Sanni2002][Olasupo2016]Wrap in leaf packets and ferment
Temperature28–32 °CTypicalWrap in leaf packets and ferment
Salt1–2 %Reported[Olasupo2016][Sanni2002]Mix the slices with salt
AciditypH 6.5 → 7.1Measured[Olasupo2016][Sanni2002]Wrap in leaf packets and ferment
DocumentedSoy and legumes2.9 days – 12 daysMore soy and legumesMore from NigeriaMore from Cameroon

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
seeds of African oil bean tree (Pentaclethra macrophylla); raw seed 36–42 % protein, 43–47 % lipid, glutamic acid the largest amino acid [WP-Ugba]
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.9 days – 12 days

Start
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What changes: The hard oil-bean seeds boil for hours until the shells crack

Step 1 of 5
Boil the whole seeds
Time
4–18 h
Reported
Temperature
Boiling
Typical
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus proteolysis

Seeds can instead be dehulled by toasting in hot sand at about 100 °C [Olasupo2016]. Output: boiled seeds.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
hard brown shell cracks
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

vegetative flora killed

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

Safety

Short shelf life; storage changes studied (Ogueke & Aririatu 2004) [WP-Ugba]; raw seeds contain antinutrients requiring cooking (typical).

History and sources

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

  1. [WP-Ugba] English Wikipedia, Ugbawiki
  2. [s2] Odunfa SA, Oyeyiola GF. Microbiological study of the fermentation of ugba. 1985 (cited)other
  3. [s3] Njoku HO, Okemadu CP. Biochemical changes during the natural fermentation of the African oil bean. 1989 (cited)other
  4. [Sanni2002] Sanni A.I. et al. 2002, Selection of starter cultures for the production of ugba, Eur Food Res Technol 215:176–180paper
  5. [Olasupo2016] Olasupo N.A., Okorie C.P., Oguntoyinbo F.A. 2016, The biotechnology of ugba, a Nigerian traditional fermented food condiment, Front Microbiol 7:1153paper