Mageu (Sotho language spelling), maHewu, amaRhewu (Zulu

Zulu language

Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...

 spelling) or amaHewu (Xhosa

Xhosa language

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...

 spelling) is a traditional South African non-alcoholic drink among many of the Sotho people

Sotho

Sotho may refer to:*The Sotho people , an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa and Lesotho.*The Sotho language , a Bantu Language spoken in southern Africa, an official language of both South Africa and Lesotho.*The Northern Sotho language , a group of related Bantu dialects...

 and Nguni people

Nguni people

-History:The ancient history of the Nguni people is wrapped up in their oral history. According to legend they were a people who migrated from Egypt to the Great Lakes region of sub-equatorial Central/East Africa...

 made from fermented

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...

 mealie

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 pap

Porridge

Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...

. Home production is still widely practised, but the drink is also available at many supermarkets, being produced at factories (e.g. http://www.mageu.co.za, http://www.fastmoving.co.za/fmcg-suppliers/food-beverage/united-national-breweries/united-national-breweries/city-mageu,http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11468228/Powerforce_Champion_Mageu/showimg.html).
Its taste is derived predominantly from the lactic acid

Lactic acid

Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...

 that is produced during fermentation, but commercial mageu is often flavoured, much in the way commercially available yoghurt

Yoghurt

Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...

 is. Similar beverages are also made in other parts of Africa.

Fermentation Process

Thin mealie pap is prepared, to which wheat flour is added, providing the inoculum of lactate-producing bacteria. The mixture is left to ferment, typically in a warm area. Pasteurization

Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...

 is done in commercial operations to extend shelf-life.

Nutrition

Nutritionally, it is similar to its parent mealie meal, but with the glucose changed to lactate during fermentation. Commercial preparations are often enriched

Food fortification

Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients to food. It can be purely a commercial choice to provide extra nutrients in a food, or sometimes it is a public health policy which aims to reduce numbers of people with dietary deficiencies in a population.Diets that lack...

 (In South Africa, the term fortification is only allowed legally for specific, government-sanctioned nutrition programs, e.g. that of bread) with vitamin

Vitamin

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...

s and minerals

Dietary mineral

Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules. Examples of mineral elements include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, and iodine...

. Although typically considered non-alcoholic, very small amounts (less than 1%) of Ethanol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

have been reported as a contaminant. Legally, to be termed Mageu in South Africa an alcohol content of less than 1% is required.

External links

• Mageu - Information