The Microbiology of Teff (Eragrostis Tef) Enjera

Enjera, an indigenous Ethiopian pancake is the one of the staple foods of Ethiopians. There is few information available concerning the succession and activities of microflora of its fermentation. Therefore this study was carried out to assess the microbiology of teff enjera. A total of 34 samples from “kuncho” and “Magna” enjera batter were collected during 96 hr fermentation at 6 hr intervals.“Kuncho” and “Magna” were bought from Debrezeit Agriculture Research Center and from Hawassa open market, respectively. Samples were analysed for changes in pH, titratable acidity (TA) and microbial count. The pH decreased with increasing TA during “kuncho” and “Magna” teff enjera batter fermentation. Total aerobic mesophilic count, LAB and yeast increasedby about 3 log cycles until 48 hr fermentation, while Enterobacteriaceae were reduced below detectable levels after 18 hr due to the low pH of the teff batter. Generally, the pH, TA and microbial count of enjera from the two cultivars of teff batter were not different.