Common indigenous fermented foods and beverages produced in Swaziland: A review

Several indigenous fermented foods and beverages are produced at the household level in Swaziland. The fermented products include fermented maize (sancoti), fermented porridges (incwancwa), fermented milk products (emasi), nonalcoholic cereal beverage (emahewu), alcoholic beverage (umcombotsi) from sorghum (amabele) or millet (nyawotsi), malt distilled spirits (makanjane) and fermented fruit mashes (buganul marula wine and papaya beer). Research activities into the fermentation processes and biotechnologies of the fermented foods are yet to gather momentum. Local indigenous knowledge systems may be threatened by urbanization and thus, the oral tradition of passing traditional ways of food processing from one generation to another is lost. It is therefore, against this background that the biotechnology and fermentation processes of traditional foods, as well as their processing technologies need to be studied and documented to pass them on to future generations' economic development. Available information pertaining to indigenous fermented foods of Swaziland has been reviewed here.