Amasi
.jpg) Amasi in a supermarket fridge | |
| Nutritional value per 100g | |
|---|---|
5 g | |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g |
4.4 g | |
| Saturated | 2.7 g |
3.7 g | |
| Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
| Sodium | 2% 47 mg |
| Other constituents | Quantity |
| Cholesterol | 9 mg |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2] Source: https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/6001391000239/amasi | |
Amasi (in Zulu and Xhosa), maas (in Afrikaans), or mafi (in Sesotho), is a fermented milk product that is similar to cottage cheese or plain yogurt. It is a popular snack in South Africa and Lesotho.
Preparation
Amasi is traditionally prepared by storing unpasteurised cow's milk in a calabash container (Xhosa: iselwa Zulu: igula) or hide sack to allow it to ferment.[3] The fermenting milk develops a watery substance called umlaza; the remainder is amasi. This thick liquid[clarification needed] is mostly poured over mealie meal porridge called pap. (Xhosa: umphokoqo),[4] It is traditionally served in a clay pot (Zulu: ukhamba) and eaten with wooden spoons, but it can also be drunk. I.[3] Amasi is also produced commercially using Lactococcus lactis, along with subspecies of L. lactis.[citation needed]
In culture
Zulu
Traditionally, Zulus believe that amasi makes a man strong, healthy, and desired. During "taboos", such as periods during menstruation or when a person has been in contact with death, the affected person must abstain from amasi. Milk is hardly ever drunk fresh, but it is sometimes used to thin amasi which is deemed too thick to be used.[5]
South Africa
Nelson Mandela mentions how he cautiously left a friends's apartment (his hiding place in a "white" area when he was wanted by the apartheid government) after he overheard two Zulu workers comment that it was strange to see milk on the window sill (left out to ferment) because whites seldom drank amasi.[6]
Amasi is also popular in South African Indian cuisine where it is used similarly to curd.
Xhosa
In the Xhosa culture, a bride is served amasi and a piece of meat, which is called uTsiki, as a sign of being welcomed into her new family.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ a b "SA Culture – Ukdula". National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa. Retrieved 18 January 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Umphokoqo - crumbly mealie pap with amasi | Food & Home Entertaining". www.foodandhome.co.za. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ Megan Russell; Tamlin Armstrong; Sarah Dawson. "Diet [of the Zulu people]". Thinkquest. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
- ^ Mandela, Nelson (1994). Long Walk to Freedom. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-87496-5.
External links
- Princess Magogo talks about amasi (sour milk)
- Study on nutritional benefits of amasi
- Review of the destruction of E. coli in amasi.
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