Mageu

Mageu (Setswana spelling), Mahewu (Shona/Chewa/Nyanja spelling), Mahleu (Sesotho spelling), Magau (xau-Namibia) (Khoikhoi spelling), Madleke (Tsonga spelling), Mabundu (Tshivenda spelling), maHewu, amaRhewu (Xhosa spelling) or amaHewu (Zulu and Northern Ndebele spelling) is a traditional Southern African non-alcoholic drink among many of the Chewa/Nyanja, Shona, Ndebele, Nama Khoikhoi and Damara people, Sotho people, Tswana people and Nguni people made from fermented mealie pap. Home production is still widely practised, but the drink is also available at many supermarkets, being produced at factories. Its taste is derived predominantly from the lactic acid that is produced during fermentation, but commercial mageu is often flavoured and sweetened, much in the way commercially available yogurt is. Similar beverages are also made in other parts of Africa.

==Fermentation process== Thin mealie pap (maize meal) is prepared, to which wheat flour is added, providing the inoculum of lactate-producing bacteria. The mixture is left to ferment, typically in a warm area. Pasteurisation is done in commercial operations to extend shelf-life.