Ogiri vs Dawadawa
The short answer
Two Nigerian fermented seed condiments made the same way — cooked, wrapped and left for Bacillus bacteria to break the protein down — from different seeds. Dawadawa (iru) is the locust bean, a legume, and is drier and more ammoniacal; ogiri is an oilseed — melon, castor or fluted pumpkin — and is softer, oilier and more cheese-like. Both season soups; dawadawa belongs to the north and the Yoruba south-west, ogiri to the south-east, and each can stand in for the other at a pinch.
Side by side
| Ogiri | Dawadawa | |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical identity | Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, Ricinus communis L., Telfairia occidentalis Hook.f. | Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) R.Br. ex G.Don |
| Part used | seed | seed |
| Origin | Southern Nigeria, where it is made by Igbo and Yoruba households and small producers. | The Sudanian and Guinean savanna belt of West Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria and beyond. |
| Flavour notes | savoury, pungent, cheesy, fermented, umami | savoury, pungent, ammoniacal, fermented, umami |
| Heat | Scoville does not apply | Scoville does not apply |
| Flavour | Intensely savoury, from the free amino acids released in fermentation, with an oily richness from the seed. | Intensely savoury and slightly bitter, with a lingering fermented depth. In a finished soup it tastes less of itself than of meat or stock. |
| Aroma | Very strong: pungent, ammoniacal and cheese-like. Much of the ammonia cooks off in a soup. | Strong, pungent and ammoniacal, with a deep savoury character — the smell of protein breakdown by Bacillus, and chemically a relative of natto. Much of the ammonia cooks off in the pot; the savouriness stays. |
Can you swap them?
Substitution is directional: the answer is often different in each direction, and both are recorded.
Dawadawa
Good matchThe same kind of alkaline-fermented seed condiment, doing the same savoury job. Dawadawa is drier and more ammoniacal, ogiri oilier and more cheese-like; in a soup the difference is modest.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | partial | close | n/a |
Works for
- Soups and stews that call for a small piece of ogiri
Does not work for
- Cooks who know the soup with ogiri will notice the different smell