Drinks of the Umbundo people (Angola): Quissângua and Quimbombo

Abstract

Quissângua and Quimbombo are two traditional fermented beverages of the Umbundo people (Angola) obtained from corn: Quissângua, with only a lactic fermentation, Quimbombo, a beer with a lactic fermentation prior to alcoholic fermentation. Prepared exclusively by women, they are taken unfiltered, and have a very short shelf life. Most African countries produce their traditional beers from sorghum, taken unfiltered, and studies show considerable nutritional value. However, there is a tendency for consumers to prefer industrial, filtered and long-lasting beer, usually promoted by marketing campaigns. Faced with the risk of losing interest in traditional products, several countries want to reverse this trend and are researching new technologies to improve shelf life and food safety, without sacrificing traditional flavors. No similar studies have been identified on these drinks from umbundo people. The objective of this work is to describe and comment in detail on the manufacturing process of these two drinks, contributing to the preservation of this cultural heritage. To this end, a prestigious manufacturer was selected that allowed us to monitor and document all the procedures of its activity for four months (1973-1974). The ingredients common to both beverages are water, maize flour or maize fuba, ombundi root - Pseudeminia benguellensis (Torre) Verdc. - and microorganisms contained in product waste stored in gourds from one manufacture to the next. In the manufacture of beer, corn malt is also used.