Controlling the Traditional Fermentation Process for the Production of “attiéké” in Dabou (Côte d’Ivoire)

Introduction: “Attiéké” plays a crucial role in the daily lives and diets of many communities in Côte d'Ivoire. However, the national market offers a wide variety of “attiéké” qualities, which affects the uniformity of its production. One of the main causes of this variation is poor control of the fermentation parameters. Objective: The aim of this study was to standardise attiéké production by optimising fermentation, focussing on ferment control, the rate of incorporation, and fermentation time, to guarantee consistent quality. Methods: To this end, “attiéké” samples were prepared from fermented doughs containing 8%, 10% and 12% inoculum, with fermentation periods of 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours. These samples were then compared with a reference “attiéké” produced in Dabou. The effectiveness of standardising fermentation parameters was assessed by measuring microbial loads of lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus, yeasts, and moulds, and by analysing physicochemical parameters such as pH, glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactic acid, acetic acid and ethanol. Results: The results showed that the fermentation that produced an “attiéké” similar to the control sample was carried out with 10% ferment for 12 hours (C10T12). This “attiéké” showed Bacillus loads of 2.6 log10 cfu/g, lactic bacteria loads of 1.1 log10 cfu/g, as well as a glucose concentration of 6.35 g/L, sucrose of 4.8 g/L, lactic acid of 4.45 g/L, acetic acid of 1.35 g/L, and a pH of 4.8. Conclusion: Therefore, this work answers the question of the reproducibility of this traditional dish, “attiéké”.