Abstract A survey was conducted using structured questionnaire to evaluate the production and consumption pattern of gurasa,an indigenious flat bread consumed in northwestern Nigerian comprising of seven States. Also nutritive value of randomly selected gurasa samples were analyzed. Ninety eight percentage (98%) sampled consume this productany time of the day (52%) and few others for breakfast(27%), usually accompanied with yaji(spiced defatted peanut powder)(54%). More producers were males (25.7%), more consumers (32%) females mainly in the age group of 21-31. Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa  harbour 74.3% of producers and 79% of consumers. Keep quality was less than five days (60%), less three days (40%), therefore improvement in keeping quality (41%), (37%) solicited. Yong adults were the producers who obtained the skill from parents/relatives (91%), those with less than five years were 40.5% and 6-11 years of experience, 43.3%. Local oven fueled by corn stalk were involved in baking 81% and 75.7% respectively. Need for expansion called for assistance in the area of working capital (56.75) and provision of storage facility (36.72%) to further improve profitability through greater turnover. Moisture, protein, fat, ash, dietary fiber and carbohydrate of sampled gurasa varied significantly from 28.09-30.11%, 8.96-11.68%, 4.03-5.00, 1.79-3.11%, 0.92-1, 12% and 50.00-55.04%. Weight, volume and specific loaf volume varied significantly from 108.34-119.27g, 211.96-260.17ml and 1.93-2.22ml/g respectively. It is suggested that government intervention is necessary to modernize, harmonize and regulate this subsector that help to eliminate food insecurity. Nutritional quality could be improved by partial substitution of the refined wheat flour with pulse flour since majority could not afford animal protein. Key words: Flat bread, Gurasa, Nutritive value, Production survey, Consumption survey.

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The quality of the three local wheat varieties, pearl millet and cowpea composite based gurasa (a Nigerian traditional flat bread) were evaluated. A 3x4x2 factorial design comprising 3 wheat cultivars, 4 levels of pearl millet substitution and 2 levels of cowpea that yielded 24 experimental group in addition to a 100% commercial wheat flour sample were employed for gurasa production. The proximate composition, weight, volume, swelling power, solubility index, water absorption capacity and acceptability of the gurasa were determined using standard methods. Water absorption ranged from 50 to 55% and increased with addition of cowpea flour. Swelling power decreased with increase in the solubility of the flour. Gurasa supplemented with pearl millet and cowpea had the highest protein (14.58%), crude fats (4.93%) and energy (333.13kcal/100 g) which increased with the level of substitution. Weight and volume of the gurasa ranged from 128.33 to 153.33g and 186.67 to 386.67 cm3 respectively. Sensory evaluation showed that all the gurasa products were acceptable in terms of colour, taste, aroma and texture when compared with the control gurasa.  Gurasa produced from the blends of local wheat cultivars, millet and cowpea increased the protein content as well as lysine (essential amino acid) that can satisfy the dietary requirement of human, especially for local consumers.

Wheat flour Cassava flour Sweet potato flour Composite flour bread Gluten Particle size.Contribution/Originality: Some indices of quality for wheat flour brands available in Nigerian markets were characterized, in addition to evaluating their baking strength when blended with either cassava or sweet potato flour. The study provided decision making information for the miller and the end-user, and much needed baseline data for further study, even though the factors governing flour quality are dynamic. INTRODUCTIONWheat is the third largest grown cereal in the world with global production of about 735 million metric tons

Akamu, a starchy cereal-based lactic acid fermented gruel consumed in West Africa was prepared using different processing methods: use of dehulled (D) maize grains, use of partially germinated (PG) maize grains (36-48h) and blends: PG and soybean (S) (90:10), D and S (90:10) and D and Melon (M) seed (90:10). Soaking, wet-milling, wet-sieving, sedimentation (24h), decanting, dewatering were involved and the traditional maize akamu served as the control. The seven different samples were subjected to physicochemical microbiological and sensory evaluations. Crude protein (4.70-10.33%), crude fat (4.12-14.30%), total ash (0.26-0.88 %%), crude fibre (1.51-2.77%) contents were higher in oil seed treated akamu and the carbohydrate contents (<74.41%) were the lowest. The akamu made of dehulled(D) maize had poorer proximate composition. Dominant elements in all the akamu were Phosphorous and Potassium and surprisingly, Zinc (1.98mg/100g), Iron (7.33 mg/g) and potassium (106.83 mg/g) in the akamu made with dehulled maize and calcium higher in the control (14.21mg/100g) and partially germinated (14.71mg/100g) akamu. Low water activity in the dried akamu ensured satisfactory low bacterial and fungal counts (<103cfu/g). The control (U) and D akamu possessed better functional and sensory properties; water absorption capacity, swelling power and pH of the different akamu varied significantly: 7.40—8.10 ml/g, 2.74-5.73 g/g, and 5.41-7.42 g/g respectively. Short period of  germination (<48 h) did not affect negatively the proximate composition, sensory, water absorption capacity and swelling power of the PG, PG+U, PG+S akamu(s). The control (U) and D akamu were adjudged to possess better sensory properties especially U akamu with scores slightly greater than 8 on a 9-point hedonic scale, but the superior nutritive value of oil seed treated akamu(s) were masked by poorer sensory attributes. It is concluded that akamu made from PG maize or its blends with undehulled maize or soybean were better alternatives to traditional akamu which is nutritionally inferior although it possessed excellent sensory and functional properties.