Ablo (rice-based steamed bread)
Soft, lightly tangy steamed cereal bread documented across Benin and Togo. This page gives one measured rice-flour research method; maize-based Ablo and mixed-grain versions remain distinct traditions.
Momone
Momone is a Ghanaian salted and fermented fish condiment made from varied marine fish. Historical surveys describe both semi-dried and drier products, with salting and drying methods differing across coastal communities.
A salted fish condiment from Ghana
Momone, also written as Momoni or Bomone in the reviewed sources, is a salted and fermented Ghanaian fish condiment. Its fish and preparation vary between coastal communities. FAO describes a semi-dried product used in small quantities to flavour meals in southern Ghana. The 1978 CSIR study reports multiple species and process variants along the coast; this evidence does not establish one recipe or standard product form.
This entry is distinct from Koobi, which is described as salted, dried tilapia, and Ewule, associated with triggerfish. A merge proposal for live candidate records Momone and Momoni is open, because the supplied atlas and primary sources use the spellings for a Ghanaian condiment. The records remain separate until that proposal is independently decided.
Sources for this section
- Studies on Bomone, a Ghanaian fermented fish product →
- Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 9: Consumer Attitudes to Fishery Products →
- Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 5: Fish Processing Characteristics →
Local fish and processing differences
The CSIR survey covers processing localities along the coast from Keta to Busua near Takoradi. It names several fish across the survey, including Atlantic Spanish mackerel, burro, grouper, horse mackerel, sea bream, surgeonfish, red snapper and threadfin. The names represent different fish used in the study; they are not a universal ingredient list. The paper's experimental follow-up from 1993 used Japanese jack mackerel as a model, which also does not establish a customary species.
Surveyed methods commonly involved cleaning and washing fish, salting with coarse salt or brine and drying. Some communities rubbed salt onto fish and stacked them in wooden barrels under jute or polyethylene coverings; other methods differed, and the survey notes that some small fish were left ungutted. Reported salting amounts, fermentation durations and drying periods vary across places and weather conditions. They are records of observed practice, not safe limits or instructions for a home batch.
Sources for this section
Use and food-safety evidence
FAO describes Momone as a pungent condiment that adds flavour to meals and records its use in southern Ghana. A 2002 study tested retail Momoni samples and reported a pH above 6, high salt and low lactic-acid bacteria counts; the authors suggest fish enzymes may drive much of the transformation in the samples they examined. Those observations do not establish one process or demonstrate that another batch is safe.
FDA fish guidance identifies hazards from inadequate handling and processing, including botulism in inadequately controlled preserved uneviscerated fish and histamine formation in susceptible fish after time-temperature abuse. The local Bomone survey lists some mackerel and grouper/snapper among varied fish; exact species and catch location matter for species-dependent hazards. The available evidence does not set validated safety controls for Momone.
Sources for this section
- Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 9: Consumer Attitudes to Fishery Products →
- Microflora and chemical composition of Momoni, a Ghanaian fermented fish condiment →
- Import Alert 16-74: Uneviscerated Fish Products that are Salt-cured, Dried, Smoked, Pickled, Fermented or Brined →
- Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, Chapter 7: Scombrotoxin (Histamine) Formation →
History
A Ghanaian CSIR paper documents Bomone research in 1978 and reports a coastal survey. Its authors characterize the food as long used but give no dateable earlier evidence; the first attestation and origin remain unknown.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Marine fish (species vary)Ghanaian coastal surveys identify several marine fish used at different locations; no single species is established for Momone.
Amount not stated
Fish type, size and preparation differ by locality. Some accounts describe small fish processed without gutting; others describe scaling and gutting.SaltThe historical Bomone survey describes dry coarse salt or brine; salt may be layered with fish or applied at other stages in local methods.
Amount not stated
Historical reports give varying amounts, not a standardized recipe or validated safety level.Method
Risks and precautions · High risk
Pathogenic bacteria and unsafe process variation
The 1978 Bomone market survey detected faecal coliforms in samples and isolated some Staphylococcus aureus; it reported no Salmonella, Shigella or Clostridia in the tested samples but called for standardized and hygienically controlled methods. A 2002 Momoni retail study identified several microbial genera and pH above 6 in its samples. These bounded studies do not establish the safety of other batches.
Hazard sourceBotulinum toxin in inadequately controlled preserved fish
The historical Bomone survey reports one small-fish method without gutting. FDA warns that uneviscerated fish can pose a C. botulinum hazard during salt curing, drying or fermentation, and toxin may be present without visible spoilage. This is general hazard guidance, not a Momone outbreak report.
Hazard sourceHistamine in susceptible fish
The Bomone species survey includes mackerel, and FDA identifies time-temperature abuse of susceptible fish as a cause of scombrotoxin (histamine) poisoning. The exact species in a particular Momone batch and its pre-salting handling are not established; no Momone-specific illness is claimed.
Hazard sourceSpecies-dependent natural toxins
The historical fish list includes grouper and red snapper, but it does not consistently identify species or catch areas. FDA lists ciguatera hazard for some grouper and snapper species. This conditional warning does not establish toxin occurrence in Momone.
Hazard sourceFish allergen
Momone is a fish product; fish is a major food allergen.
Hazard sourceThis is a source comparison, not a validated home-preservation recipe.
Reported salt amounts and fermentation or drying durations vary by locality and are not safe limits.
The sources do not establish a validated salt concentration, fermentation control, drying endpoint or storage limit.
FDA warns that botulinum toxin may be present without visible spoilage. Smell, taste, appearance or bubbling cannot establish safety.
- This source comparison is not a validated home-preservation recipe. Ghanaian Momone/Bomone/Momoni is a salted, fermented fish condiment. The names are treated as probable spelling variants pending the open deduplication proposal; they should not be confused with Koobi, which is a salted, dried tilapia product, or Ewule, which is associated with triggerfish.
- A 1978 Ghanaian coastal survey says local methods differed. Its basic description includes scaling and gutting fish, washing them in fresh or sea water, salting with coarse salt or brine, and drying. Some local methods rubbed salt on fish, packed it in layers in wooden barrels and covered the containers with jute or polyethylene. The same survey notes that one method left small fish unscaled and ungutted. These are distinct local observations, not steps for a universal batch.
- The survey reports dry-salt amounts ranging across localities, salting times from one to seven days, fermentation from six hours to eight days and drying periods from three to ten days. In the described dry-salt methods, salted fermented fish could be sun-dried on tarpaulin or leaves; brined fish followed different drying periods. These figures document the survey and are not recommended salt amounts, safe fermentation times or validated drying limits.
- Fish used in the survey varied across coastal communities. Its list includes Atlantic Spanish mackerel, burro, grouper, horse mackerel, sea bream, surgeonfish, red snapper and threadfin. The common names and taxonomic identifications should not be used to claim that each Momone batch contains any particular species. A separate 1993 experiment used Japanese jack mackerel as a model for studying processing; that experimental fish is not evidence of the customary species.
- FAO describes semi-dried fermented Momone as a pungent condiment used in small quantities in southern Ghana. A 2002 University of Ghana study analyzed retail Momoni and found pH above 6, low lactic-acid bacteria counts and high salt in the sampled products; the authors suggest endogenous fish enzymes contribute to the process. Those sample results do not validate a process or show that all products have the same composition.
- The sources do not establish a single fish species, salt amount, controlled time-temperature process, validated pH or water-activity target, drying endpoint, storage method or safe shelf life. Do not combine the differing local reports into one schedule.
Places
Ghana
Documented preparation · Country evidenceCountry-level preparation record; not an origin claim.
Coastal Ghana
Documented preparation · Region evidenceSurvey range and locality variation do not establish one birthplace or method.
Accra
Documented use · Locality evidenceMarket sampling location, not a production origin or exclusive use area.
Southern Ghana
Documented use · Region evidenceBroad use association only.
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Sources
Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science 11:21–26; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research repositoryIdentity · Method · Species variation · Geography · Equipment · Food safety
Studies on Bomone, a Ghanaian fermented fish productA survey of coastal Ghana from Keta to Busua near Takoradi documents varied fish species and local procedures. Basic methods included scaling, gutting, washing, salting with coarse salt or brine and drying; some methods used wooden barrels covered with jute or polyethylene.
The article reports different salt quantities and fermentation/drying durations by locality; these are historical observations, not validated controls. It identifies common fish across the survey including mackerel, burro, grouper, horse mackerel, sea bream, surgeonfish, red snapper and threadfin, without establishing one standard species.
Market samples were bought in several Accra markets. The study detected faecal coliforms and small amounts of Staphylococcus aureus among organisms isolated; its sample findings do not establish general product safety.
Cited in: A salted fish condiment from Ghana; Local fish and processing differences
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329Method · Species variation · Geography
Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 5: Fish Processing CharacteristicsFAO describes multiple fish species used for African fermented fish and identifies Ghana as a coastal-processing country; its generic category and process descriptions are not all specific to Momone.
Cited in: A salted fish condiment from Ghana
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329Identity · Use · Geography
Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 9: Consumer Attitudes to Fishery ProductsDescribes Momone as a semi-dried fermented fish condiment made from high-value species, used in small quantities, and consumed in southern Ghana.
Cited in: A salted fish condiment from Ghana; Use and food-safety evidence
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 15(5):577–583Identity · Food safety · Process mechanism
Microflora and chemical composition of Momoni, a Ghanaian fermented fish condimentAnalyzes retail Momoni samples and reports pH above 6, high salt and low lactic-acid bacteria; authors suggest endogenous fish enzymes rather than associated microorganisms drive much of the process in those samples.
Identifies several microbial genera in the samples. These results do not characterize all Momoni or validate a process.
Cited in: Use and food-safety evidence
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 63(2):227–235Experimental method · Species context
Effects of processing and storage on some chemical characteristics and lipid composition of a Ghanaian fermented fish productA controlled experiment studied Momoni processing using Japanese jack mackerel as a model fish similar to African jack mackerel. The experimental species is not evidence of the customary fish for all Momoni.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety · Botulism
Import Alert 16-74: Uneviscerated Fish Products that are Salt-cured, Dried, Smoked, Pickled, Fermented or BrinedFDA gives general warnings about botulism hazards in inadequately controlled preserved uneviscerated fish and the absence of visible spoilage signs; no Momone-specific outbreak is claimed.
Cited in: Use and food-safety evidence
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety · Species related hazard
Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, Chapter 7: Scombrotoxin (Histamine) FormationFDA identifies histamine formation after time-temperature abuse of susceptible fish as a food-safety hazard; the relevance to a Momone batch depends on its exact species and handling.
Cited in: Use and food-safety evidence
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety · Species related hazard
Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, June 2022 EditionFDA lists species-specific natural-toxin hazards for some grouper and snapper; exact species and harvest area are needed to assess applicability. This does not establish toxin occurrence in Momone.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety · Allergen
Food AllergiesFish is a major food allergen.