Kocho Fermentation

Kocho fermentation is an Ethiopian technique for turning the enset, or false banana, plant into a fermented, bread-like staple food. The pith of the plant's pseudo-stem, along with scraped leaf sheath fiber and the pulverized corm, is pounded to extract a starchy pulp, which is mixed with a portion of older, already fermented pulp to serve as a starter. The pulp is then left to ferment underground for anywhere from several weeks to as long as two years, and once fermented it can be stored underground for three months to a year, giving households a reserve source of food through periods of scarcity. The fermented pulp is finally cooked into a dense, bread-like food.