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Traditional knowledge associated with yeast preservation and Teff Injera making process in east and west Gojam zones of Ethiopia


Biodiversity International Journal
Girum Faris, Moges Shenkutie, Rahel Tilahun, Nigussie Seboka

Abstract

Teff is a major food grain in Ethiopia but is a minor cereal crop and traditionally grown as a cereal crop. The grain is ground to flour mainly used for making popular pancake-like local bread called injera. A major source of inoculum for teff fermentation is the teff flour itself.Ershois supposed to be a starter for teff fermentation. This study aimed to document the traditional knowledge associated with traditional injera making and Ersho/yeast preservation processes in the two well-known Teff producing areas in the region. Systematic random sampling method followed by questionnaire survey was employed. A total of 90 household injera makers (90) were participated to get the actual information considering the culture of the study area. Three Zones were selected from Amhara region and 46 (51.1%), 29(32.2%) and 15(16.7%) study participants were recruited from East Gojam, West Gojam, and Awi Zones, respectively. Results were revealed that it is common to use traditionally fermented foods like injera, bread, Tella, Tej, Buqir in the community. The type of teff flour they use to bake enjera is (48%, 53.3%) for nech teff, (12%, 13.3%) for key teff, (30%, 33.3%) for sergegna teff. The role microorganisms in teff dough fermentation are not well known in the community. Most of the respondents (79, 87.8%) have no information about the role of microorganisms in fermentation in the process. This might be related to the educational background of the respondents. The duration of fermenting teff flour is vary according to teff type and the consumption of the family, in average 4.01 days are needed. The average days for the injera to be spoiled are 4.96 days. To get quality injera some respondents use “afsit” while others use warm water, this has to be studied in the future.

Keywords

teff, yeast, traditional knowledge, fermented foods

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