Mageu
Traditional Southern African non-alcoholic maize drink
Mageu (Setswana spelling), Mahewu (Shona/Chewa/Nyanja spelling), Mahleu (Sesotho spelling), Magau (xau-Namibia) (Khoikhoi spelling), Madleke (Tsonga spelling), Mabundu (Tshivenda spelling), maHewu, amaRhewu (Xhosa spelling) or amaHewu (Zulu and Northern Ndebele spelling) is a traditional Southern African non-alcoholic drink among many of the Chewa/Nyanja, Shona, Ndebele, Nama Khoikhoi and Damara people, Sotho people, Tswana people and Nguni people made from fermented mealie pap. Home production is still widely practised, but the drink is also available at many supermarkets, being produced at factories. Its taste is derived predominantly from the lactic acid that is produced during fermentation, but commercial mageu is often flavoured and sweetened, much in the way commercially available yogurt is. Similar beverages are also made in other parts of Africa.
01Fermentation process
Thin mealie pap (maize meal) is prepared, to which wheat flour is added, providing the inoculum of lactate-producing bacteria. The mixture is left to ferment, typically in a warm area. Pasteurisation is done in commercial operations to extend shelf-life.
02Nutrition
Nutritionally, it is similar to its parent mealie meal, but with the glucose metabolized to lactate during fermentation. Commercial preparations are often enriched (In South Africa, the term 'fortification' is only allowed legally for specific, government-sanctioned nutrition programs, e.g. that of bread) with vitamins and minerals. Although typically considered non-alcoholic, very small amounts (less than 1%) of ethanol have been reported.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mageu”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Mageu (carton and glass).JPG by Garble at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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