Amasi facts for kids
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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 |
|
Protein
|
3.7 g
|
| Minerals | Quantity
%DV†
|
| Sodium |
3%
47 mg |
| Other constituents | Quantity |
| Cholesterol | 9 mg |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults. 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.
Contents
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. The fermenting milk develops a watery substance called umlaza; the remainder is amasi. This thick liquid is mostly poured over mealie meal porridge called pap. (Xhosa: umphokoqo), It is traditionally served in a clay pot (Zulu: ukhamba) and eaten with wooden spoons, but it can also be drunk. I. Amasi is also produced commercially using Lactococcus lactis, along with subspecies of L. lactis.
In culture
Zulu
Traditionally, Zulus believe that amasi makes a man strong and healthy. When a person has been in contact with death, they 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.
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.
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.
See also
In Spanish: Amasi para niños
