Fermented foodstuffs are integral to the Ethiopian diet, contributing to the unique flavors and nutritional benefits that define the Ethiopian cuisine. Ethiopia exhibits a rich cultural diversity that is reflected in a high variety of indigenous fermented foods consumed. Among these, Kocho stands out as a staple, deeply rooted in the country's culinary traditions and agricultural practices.
Enset Plant
What is Kocho?
Kocho is a bread-like food produced from the corm and pseudostem of Enset (Ensete ventricosum), a multipurpose Ethiopian food security crop supporting approximately 20 million population, mainly in the South and Southwestern part of the country. Baked Kocho is a staple food in this country and it contains complex carbohydrates, minerals and lactic acid bacteria. It is often mixed with spices and butter, sometimes cut into little pieces and cooked with legumes, vegetables, and meat.
Enset (Ensete ventricosum), also referred to as a false banana, is a food security crop that provides staple or costaple food for more than 20 million people in Ethiopia. Enset is a monocarpic, perennial, and monocotyledonous plant that originated and was domesticated in Ethiopia. Geographically distributed as a wild plant species in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, it is commonly cultivated as a food crop only in the Ethiopian highlands. Enset plants are grown in a relatively wide range of environmental conditions and soil types. The plant possesses deep root systems that enable it to withstand a longer period of drought (about 5 months) than other crops. The plant is accessible throughout the year and has the capability to serve a larger number of people in the future as staple and costaple foods.
Kocho, Bulla, and Amicho are the main food products obtained from the enset plant after processing. Kocho is a fermented food obtained from the scraped pseudostem and pulverized corm of the plant. Kocho is consumed as a staple or costaple food in central, southern, and southwestern parts of Ethiopia. It is rich in carbohydrates, minerals, phenolics, and fibers. However, all food products prepared from enset are poor in protein, fat, and vitamin content. The variety of enset plants, processing approaches, and fermentation periods influence the quality of kocho.
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The Importance of Enset
Enset is becoming a priority crop in Ethiopia due to its drought tolerance and significant contribution to the country's food security. It is a diverse perennial crop with an average yield of 10-15 tons per hectare, and its annual production has increased from around 2 million tons in the early 2010s to over 3 million tons recently. Per capita consumption of enset-based products, particularly kocho, has risen from approximately 50 kg to about 70 kg per year, reflecting a consumption growth rate of 4-5% annually, which outpaces Ethiopia's population growth rate of about 2.5-3%.
This trend underscores enset's growing importance as a food security priority crop in Ethiopia, driven by its adaptability and nutritional benefits. The crop is grown in most parts of the country, accounting for about 65% of total crop production in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. It is believed to be adapted to various ecological niches and low-input farming systems and may tolerate specific biotic and abiotic stresses. Enset is well-adapted to thrive under various abiotic stressors, including drought, low soil fertility, and temperature variability due to its deep root system and efficient nutrient utilization.
In addition to its potential for climate adaptability, the enset crop and its products are a rich source of minerals and vitamins, making it an important crop for maintaining good health. Enset's starchy corm and pseudostem can be used as an alternative food to alleviate food security problems.
the complete process of kocho making.mp4
Traditional Kocho Fermentation
Traditional kocho fermentation requires a variety of equipment and ingredients for processing as well as for accelerating its duration time. It is varied from place to place both in equipment used for processing and in ingredients required for facilitating the fermentation process. The first step in the process of kocho fermentation is the collection of matured enset plants carried out by experienced women. After a mature enset plant has been selected, leaves are removed, cleared, and dried leaf sheaths from the plant, and the surrounding parts are prepared for the next steps.
The dug-up underground corm is detached and cleaned to isolate the true stem from the root. Then, the inner leaf sheaths are separated from the pseudostem down to the real stem, which is a segment between the corm and the pseudostem. The true stem is isolated from the underground corm. Fermentation starts after kocho is stored in an earthen pit, which may range from three months to one year for completion. It depends on the climatic conditions of that environment. In warmer regions, fermentation is rapid and may terminate within 15 days to at least one month, while in the cooler regions, it is kept in a pit for years.
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The traditional processing of enset has two phases: phase one (surface fermentation), the beginning of fermentation which is continued for about 15 days, and phase two (pit fermentation).
The traditional enset fermentation in Ethiopia is using earthen pits, a labor-intensive, time-consuming, unsanitary process that poses safety risks. This traditional method often results in inferior and unsafe enset products due to potential contamination from soil microorganisms, contributing to a lower market price for kocho than other crops. Moreover, studies indicate that the traditional approach necessitates more extended fermentation periods, negatively impacting the nutritional quality of enset-based products. In this traditional process, women play a critical role, as they possess Indigenous technical knowledge for preparing enset for fermentation and enhancing the fermentation conditions. However, this knowledge declines as younger generations move away from enset-based agriculture, demanding improved fermentation practices.
Flowchart of traditional kocho fermentation process
Physicochemical Properties
The physicochemical properties investigated during kocho fermentation have great potential to enhance the quality of the final product.
Moisture Content
Water is essential for the growth and metabolism of fermenting microbes found in kocho dough. Kocho fermented with boiled decorticated enset pulp has a higher moisture content but is low in protein, carbohydrate, fibre, and fat content as compared with kocho fermented with nonboiled decorticated enset pulp. Mohammed et al. [11] showed that enset contains a huge amount of water, which ranges between 85 and 90%. As kocho fermentation time is extended, the moisture content decreases, probably due to excessive leaching during pit fermentation and in different steps in the preparation of kocho. The moisture content of kocho generally declined as the time of fermentation increased. These are the characteristics of fermenting microbes that lead to the reduction of moisture within the fermentation time. Enset variety and fermentation periods play a prominent role in determining the amount of moisture in the kocho.
Temperature
Hunduma and Mogessie reported that the internal temperature of unfermented kocho remains below 20°C while that of fermented kocho ranges from 19 to 23°C. This report was in line with the findings by Karssa et al., who showed an increment in the internal temperature from 19 to 24°C. Finally, in the pit fermentation, the internal temperature of the kocho varied between 20.5 and 26.1°C. Andeta et al. reported the internal temperature of fermenting enset biomass as 22.5 ± 0.2°C for the pit, 22.7 ± 0.2°C for the erosa (a bamboo basket made from enset leaf sheath), and 19.3 ± 0.1°C for jar fermentation.
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pH and Titratable Acidity
Kocho fermentation within the pit resulted in a decrease in pH and an increase in titratable acidity. Similarly, Andeta et al. reported that the pH value of kocho is influenced by the fermentation methods. A similar finding also reported by Yirmaga showed that as the titratable acidity of kocho increased, the pH value decreased. LAB and yeasts are dominant species during the fermentation of kocho since they are acid-tolerant and can survive at low pH. Karssa et al. reported that the pH of fermented enset inoculated with a traditional starter culture (gamancho) is lower than that of treatments fermented without starter culture during fermentation periods. Their difference indicated that treatment with traditional starter cultures accelerates the fermentation time by providing high numbers of fermenting microbes.
According to Andeta et al., titratable acidity was predominantly increased through fermentation periods for pits and jars in different amounts. The titratable acidity of jar fermentation was higher than that of pit and erosa fermentations, which is in line with pH evolution. At the start of enset fermentation, the amount of titratable acidity was lower as compared with the later time of fermentation due to the increased population of acid-producing microorganisms. Yirmaga reported that the amount of titratable acidity increased significantly from 10 to 13 days of the fermentation period. Concomitantly, as compared to the 10th and 30th days of fermentation, the amount of titratable acidity is high on the 30th day of fermentation. This reflects that enset fermentation is an acidic-rich environment that allows the reduction of pH and increment of titratable acidity. Karssa et al. reported that the increment in titratable acidity of fermenting kocho dough is favouring the growth and activities of lactic acid bacteria.
Microbial Dynamics
Microbial dynamics are the driving force for the traditional fermentation process, which provides the desired quality of fermented food. They play a major role in traditional food fermentation to enhance nutritional quality, extend shelf-life, and contribute to the palatability and wholesomeness of the product.
Acetic Acid Bacteria (AAB)
Acetic acid bacteria are a group of Gram-negative bacteria with great potential for oxidizing ethanol to acetic acid. Through a long period of fermentation, AAB isolated from the LAB selective media, which may increase the number of metabolites and sensory attributes, maintain hygiene, and promote wholesome kocho fermentation. Concomitantly, higher counts of AAB were isolated from fermenting kocho after inoculating the LAB starter culture at the onset of fermentation. Aeration causes the enhancement of AAB in fermenting kocho mass, which may affect the sensory quality of fermented mass. Organic acids produced during fermentation are used as a preservative for fermented food since ...
Modern Approaches to Kocho Fermentation
Hermetic grain storage bags are a technology that could be used as an alternative to traditional earthen pits for fermenting enset. Lactic acid bacteria, which are essential for enset fermentation, thrive in the anaerobic environments created by hermetic bags, as these bags exclude oxygen and promote their growth. Traditional fermentation times can vary significantly, ranging from weeks to years depending on climatic conditions. In contrast, hermetic bags can increase internal temperatures, restrict air movement, and potentially accelerate the fermentation process, leading to improved product quality, greater availability, and reduce losses.
Several brands of hermetic packages are available on the global market, including Super Grain Bags (SGBs), Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS), Eco tact, Zero Fly, Grain Pro, Agro Z, and Agro Z Plus bags. These bags are among the small-scale options promoted in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in increased awareness, accessibility, and acceptance by development agencies, national governments, and farmers.
Previous studies have examined various fermentation materials, including buckets, bamboo baskets, and plastic jars, for kocho production. These studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of these materials in enhancing the fermentation process, improving kocho quality, and addressing contamination and food safety concerns. While there has been exploration of improved hermetic systems for kocho fermentation, the specific effectiveness of different brands of hermetic bags namely PICS, Agro Z, and Grain Pro in preserving kocho quality remains unexplored.
Kale with Kocho Recipe
Kale is a favored dish among most Ethiopians, originating from the Guraghe ethnics in Ethiopia. It is mainly eaten with a specially prepared chapati type bread called Kocho (made from Enset, or known as false banana plant root powder). It can also be eaten with Injera, Ethiopian chapatai or pancake as most refer to it (made from Teff, the staple food in Ethiopia). It is made with clarified butter, any chunks of meat from mutton, Veal or beef available. At times it is preferred /prepared with pieces of tongues of the sheep, veal or beef.
Ingredients:
- Onions(Red) 3-4 big pieces cut into small pieces
- Leeks (if preferred, two pieces cut into small pieces to be used as condiments)
- 5-6 big measuring cups of kale (in pieces and washed very well) kale should be crisp and fresh green
- 1-2 cups of pieces of boneless meat (the size one desires)
- 1-3 cups of the same measuring cups of meat with bones (cut in the size one desired) mostly in Ethiopia the pieces of mutton and beef meats have standard size (when being slaughtered) However, at times people could make it as small as they would like it for the occasion.
- 1-2 Tablespoons ghee
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic cut in small pieces or tin sliced.(at times some would like the garlic mixed with ginger, cut and smashed into paste. But it is best with only pieces of garlic.
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions:
- First put 1-3 cups of chunks of meat,along with 1-2 cups of bones with meat in a big wide casserole, Add plenty of water, close tight and cook until the meat is tender and soft. Add a pinch of salt as needed.
- Put a cup or two red onions stir mix and cook for sometimes, Add half a teaspoon of garlic.
- Put the 5-6 cups of kale (pieces) and cook until soft.
- Cook until the meat and kale are soft enough, Add the 1-2 Tablespoon scoops of clarified butter (spiced and ready made)
- Add 1 or 2 fresh green pepper cut into half (with seeds removed)
- Bring to a simmer and the dish is not supposed to be cooked until dry but has to have with a bit of curry (water)
It is mainly eaten as side dish with Kocho or Injera. As main dish, it can serve 3-4 people as side dish, 5-6 people or more. The dish has to be cooked until the Kale becomes soft. The dish is traditionally cooked in a clay pot, which cooks better and is tasty.
