African fermented foods, drinks and preservation
From sour breads and milk to savoury seeds, cassava staples and living beers, African fermentation follows the crop, the community and the work of transformation.
Terkin
terkeen · meluha · maluha
Terkin, also called meluha, is a Sudanese fermented fish paste or sauce. Sources describe raw and cooked forms and different processing methods; none establishes validated safety controls.
A Sudanese fish paste
Terkin, also called terkeen or meluha, is a Sudanese fermented fish paste or sauce made from freshwater fish. Dirar distinguishes it from fessiekh, the salted fermented whole-fish preparation, and from kejeik and mindeshi. Research also describes raw and cooked forms called Meluha naya and Meluha matbukha. The names and methods vary; the evidence does not support one process for every product called meluha.
Sources associate Terkin with northern Sudan and Nubia. A study of commercial samples names production in Jebel Al-aulia and Wadi Halfa; another paper describes Dongola/Nubia as a consumption center and records White Nile production around Jebel Awlia and Kosti. These reports establish regional associations, not a single origin.
Different source-specific processes
An FAO report groups Terkeen and Mindeshi in one description: salted fish layered in a pot or barrel, then held for a reported period before warming and stirring it into a paste. A later commercial-product study describes separate processes in Jebel Al-aulia and Wadi Halfa, including a Jebel Al-aulia start with whole ungutted fish in a lightly salted closed sac and a Wadi Halfa variant using larger eviscerated fish that are heated, stirred and packed. A separate laboratory study also cooked Terkin while stirring it into paste.
These sources differ in whether fish are eviscerated, which species or sizes are used, how salt and water are added, and how the paste is heated, drained and held. Their reported times and amounts document individual studies; they do not define a safe household process. The 2012 source itself notes that there were no standard microbial-load levels for the product and describes no controlled fermentation in the observed process.
Fish species, geography and use
One Terkin study names young Kass (*Hydrocynus* spp.) and Kawara (*Alestes* spp.) in Jebel Al-aulia; its Wadi Halfa description uses larger fish of the same names. Another laboratory account also includes Dabs (*Labeo* spp.). These are source-specific materials, not a universal Terkin species list. The sample study documents Jebel Al-aulia in Khartoum State and Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan; another paper connects the product with Dongola/Nubia and White Nile production.
Dirar places Terkin/meluha among Sudanese sauces and pastes. Sources describe it as a condiment and meal ingredient. The 2021 study reports both raw and cooked forms; that distinction does not supply a safe consumption recommendation for the raw form.
Hazards and missing controls
A study of two commercial Terkin products reports pH values of 7.2 and 6.7 and total bacterial counts of 3.5×10^5 and 6.2×10^5 CFU/g. These measurements are specific to its samples, not a safety threshold. A separate documented method begins with sealed, ungutted whole fish and little salt. FDA guidance warns that uneviscerated salt-cured fish can pose a botulism hazard and that toxin may be present without visible spoilage. FDA’s cited faseikh outbreak history is Egyptian, not evidence of a Sudanese Terkin outbreak.
No source here establishes a validated salt concentration, pH or water-activity endpoint, evisceration specification, heating endpoint, fermentation schedule, packaging control or storage limit. Because the reported methods vary and some include raw or lightly controlled fermentation, the evidence is not enough for a safe home recipe.
History
Dirar distinguishes Terkin/meluha from other Sudanese preserved-fish products. Later studies document commercial processing and regional use but differ in the history and forms they describe; no secure first date is established.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Freshwater fish (Alestes spp., Hydrocynus spp. in described samples)Freshwater Nile fish; sources list Alestes spp. and Hydrocynus spp. for some Terkin samples and methods.
Amount not stated
Species and fish size differ between production accounts; no one species applies to every batch.SaltAdded at different stages in the described processes.
Amount not stated
One account gives a commercial lab ratio, while others describe only a little salt or use different proportions; none is a validated safety amount.Water (optional)One source-specific method adds a little boiled water during processing.
Amount not stated
The amount and resulting process conditions are not established.Method
Risks and precautions · High risk
Clostridium botulinum toxin
A Terkin production study describes a first-stage sealed bag with whole ungutted fish and little salt, while other variants differ. FDA identifies botulism hazards in uneviscerated salt-cured fish and warns that toxin may not cause visible spoilage. Its faseikh outbreak records are Egyptian and do not establish Terkin incidence.
Hazard sourceFoodborne microbial contamination
A study of two commercial Terkin samples reports total bacterial counts and near-neutral pH values; its small sample does not establish prevalence or safety for other batches.
Hazard sourceThis is a source comparison, not a validated preparation method. Do not use the reported timings or amounts as safe limits.
An ungutted-fish variant is reported. The cited evidence does not establish that its initial sealed fermentation or later heating controls botulinum toxin.
Do not taste or rely on smell, appearance or bubbling to judge safety. FDA notes that botulinum toxin may be present without visible spoilage.
A commercial-product study reported pH 7.2 and 6.7 and total bacterial counts of 3.5×10^5 and 6.2×10^5 CFU/g in samples from two locations. These are study results, not safety criteria.
No validated salt concentration, pH or water-activity target, evisceration specification, heating endpoint, fermentation schedule, packaging control or storage limit is established.
- This record compares published Terkin process descriptions. It is not a validated home-preservation recipe.
- One FAO account groups Terkeen with Mindeshi. It describes fish salted in layers in an earthenware pot or barrel, with pepper or other spices possibly added. It reports a 9–15 day pickling/fermentation stage, then warming the vessel in sun or near a fireplace and stirring daily for about four days until fish and bones form a paste. Because that source groups two preparations, this is a process lead rather than a universal Terkin method.
- A study of commercial Terkin from Jebel Al-aulia describes a different sequence using small young Kass (*Hydrocynus* spp.) and Kawara (*Alestes* spp.). Its account begins with whole, unwashed, ungutted fish and a little salt in a tightly closed plastic sac for one to two days. It then adds a little boiled water, stirs until a paste forms, cools the paste, adds salt, drains it in burlap on a clean sloping surface and packs it in a closed barrel for further fermentation. The source does not establish safe conditions for this process.
- The same study describes a Wadi Halfa variant made from larger fish that are eviscerated, treated with a little salt, boiled and stirred until pasty, cooled and packed in sealed jerricans. A separate laboratory study reports a cooked variant. These processes differ in fish size, evisceration, heating and salt addition; their details must not be combined into one recipe.
- Sources describe both raw Meluha naya and cooked Meluha matbukha. The available evidence does not define a validated raw or cooked process, a cooking endpoint or a safe storage method.
Places
Sudan
Documented preparation · Country evidenceCountry-level documentation; no single birthplace is claimed.
Jebel Al-aulia
Manufacture · Region evidenceProduction and sample location; not the sole source of Terkin.
Wadi Halfa
Manufacture · Region evidenceThe study documents one local production variant.
Dongola
Documented use · Region evidenceLater source attribution; not an origin claim.
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Sources
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 329Identity · Method · Ingredients · Equipment · Geography
Fermented Fish in Africa: A Study on Processing, Marketing and Consumption — Chapter 5: Fish Processing CharacteristicsA Sudan section describes Terkeen/Mindeshi as salted in layers in an earthenware pot or barrel, possibly with pepper or other spices; it reports 9–15 days pickling/fermentation and about four days sun/fireplace warming with daily stirring into a paste. Because the account groups Terkeen/Mindeshi and differs from other descriptions, these are source-specific observations, not a universal method.
Identifies Sudanese fish processing vessels and methods; equipment/process details are not validated safety limits.
Cited in: Different source-specific processes
World's Veterinary Journal 1(1):10–13Identity · Method · Species variation · Geography · Food safety
Quality and Microbial Analysis of Local Salted-Fermented Paste Product (Terkin)Reports commercial Terkin paste sampled at Jebel Al-aulia and Wadi Halfa and describes distinct processing variants: a Jebel Al-aulia method beginning with whole, unwashed, ungutted young fish in a lightly salted closed plastic sac, followed by added boiled water, stirring to paste, cooling, salt addition and drainage; the Wadi Halfa account uses larger eviscerated fish, hot-water cooking/stirring and sealed jerricans.
The tested products had pH values of 7.2 and 6.7 and total bacterial counts of 3.5×10^5 and 6.2×10^5 CFU/g. These are measurements of two commercial products, not safety thresholds. The article reports no standard microbial-load criteria and no controlled fermentation for the described process.
Cited in: A Sudanese fish paste; Different source-specific processes; Fish species, geography and use; Hazards and missing controls
European Academic Research IX(6):3300–3306Identity · Method variation · Geography · History
Biochemical Study on Terkin: A Fermented Fish ProductDescribes raw Meluha naya and cooked Meluha matbukha forms and reports a laboratory cooked Terkin variant using fresh young fish, a one-day unsalted hold in a can, open-fire cooking with salt and continuous stirring to a paste. The source is a research variant, not a validated home method.
The authors describe Dongola/Nubia as a consumption center and White Nile production including Jebel Awlia and Kosti, and explain meluha as an Arabic name connected to salt. These are source attributions, not proof of origin.
Cited in: A Sudanese fish paste; Different source-specific processes; Fish species, geography and use
National Academies PressIdentity · Use · Distinctions
Applications of Biotechnology to Traditional Fermented Foods — Sudan's Fermented Food HeritageDefines terkin or meluha as a Sudanese fermented fish sauce or paste made from freshwater Nile fish, distinct from fessiekh (salted whole fish), kejeik (split dried fish) and mindeshi (pounded small-fish paste).
Cited in: A Sudanese fish paste; Fish species, geography and use
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood safety · Botulism
CPG Sec. 540.650: Uneviscerated Fish Products that are Salt-cured, Dried, or SmokedFDA warns about botulism in uneviscerated salt-cured whole fish and reports Egyptian faseikh outbreaks; toxin can be present without obvious spoilage. These are general hazard guidance and Egyptian incidents, not reports about Sudanese Terkin.
One Sudanese Terkin process report describes whole, ungutted fish in a sealed bag for initial fermentation, but it does not document local botulism incidence or a validated control.
Cited in: Hazards and missing controls