Preparation, storage, and utilization of Mahewu (a non-alcoholic maize meal beverage) in Ntambanana, South Africa

Kolanisi, Unathi; Olusanya, N.R.; Van Onselen A.; Ngobese, N.

Preparation, storage, and utilization of Mahewu (a non-alcoholic maize meal beverage) in Ntambanana, South Africa

dc.contributor.author	Kolanisi, Unathi
dc.contributor.author	Olusanya, N.R.
dc.contributor.author	Van Onselen A.
dc.contributor.author	Ngobese, N.
dc.coverage.conference	issn
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-18T13:37:49Z
dc.date.available	2025-11-18T13:37:49Z
dc.date.issued	2021
dc.departmentName	Consumer Sciences
dc.description.abstract	Maize is among the top three grain crops in the world. In Africa, especially Southern Africa, maize is the basic ingredient in fermented soft porridge known as Mahewu. Mahewu is a refreshing drink, produced at the household level using various practices and ingredients as a fermentation enhancer. The underprivileged consume Mahewu as the main meal of the day, and hence, Mahewu is a source of dietary nutrients for many populations in Africa and South Africa. The ingredients and practices of making Mahewu differ from one ethnic group to another. However, some of the indigenous practices are not well reported. These practices are fading away; hence, there is limited information on some indigenous practices. This paper reports some traditional practices of making Mahewu in Zulu-based households in Ntambanana, a rural municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. An ethnographic research approach was adopted for the study to gain insight into the traditional practices of making Mahewu. Probing of key informants, interviews, and observations were complemented by four focus group discussions, within the range of 10-12 regular consumers of Mahewu. Four focus group discussions were conducted in Buchanana and Luwamba in Ntambanana; findings consistently reveal that Mahewu is popularly known as “umdokwe” and is consumed by all age groups beginning from four months to the aged. Irish potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), imbiliso, and inserting a saucer or a spoon deep down into the Mahewu container were mentioned and identified as fermentation enhancers, which are lacking in other studies. Therefore, indigenous practices are diminishing, while some practices are being lost between generations. Inadequate transfer of these practices might make the drink soon to be accessible only commercially. To prevent this dilemma, the retention of traditional techniques of making Mahewu with sweet potatoes could promote food and nutrition security while retaining the indigenous practices. This study reports the preparation, storage, and utilization of Mahewu, a non-alcoholic maize meal beverage in Ntambanana, South Africa. It is recommended that campaigns promoting indigenous food consumption should form part of health and social development as well as welfare; hence, food and nutrition interventions should be implemented in rural communities.
dc.faculty	Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering
dc.format.preprint	No
dc.identifier.citation	Olusanya, N.R., Kolanisi, U., Van Onselen, A. and Ngobese, N., 2021. Preparation, storage, and utilization of Mahewu (a non-alcoholic maize meal beverage) in Ntambanana, South Africa. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 21(2), pp.17492-17508.
dc.identifier.issn	17492-17508
dc.identifier.other	https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.97.18855
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10530/58283
dc.inproceedings	issn
dc.issuenumber	21 / 2
dc.keynote	issn
dc.pages	17493-17508
dc.peerreviewed	Yes
dc.publisher	African Scholarly Science Communications Trust (ASSCAT)
dc.subject	Cereal drink
dc.subject	Imbiliso fermentation indigenous
dc.subject	Mahewu
dc.subject	practices
dc.subject	Storage Umdokwe
dc.title	Preparation, storage, and utilization of Mahewu (a non-alcoholic maize meal beverage) in Ntambanana, South Africa
dc.title.journal	African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
dc.type	Journal Article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
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