No abstract

Physico-chemical, sensory and microbiological characteristics of plain yoghurt from bambara groundnut and soybean milks were studied. Milks were prepared from bambara and soybean and then fermented using Lactobacillus delbruieckii subspp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus salivarus subspp. thermophilus to produce yoghurt. The yoghurts were stored at 7°C and 27°C for 9 days and their quality monitored. Results showed that pH of soy and bambara yoghurts decreased during the storage period for both storage temperatures. This decrease in pH was accompanied by simultaneous increase in titratable acidity. Total solids and apparent viscosities of soy and bambara yoghurts increased at 7°C, but decreased at 27°C during storage period. Bambara yoghurt received higher sensory acceptability than soy yoghurt. Predominant microorganisms in the stored yoghurts were lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The LAB count in the yoghurts stored at 7°C decreased but increased at 27°C during the storage period. Similar trends were followed by total aerobic bacteria, yeast and moulds counts. Pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Coliform and E. coli were absent in all the yogurt samples. Yoghurts of acceptable quality and safety were produced from bambara groundnut and soybeans.

The effect of partial substitution of wheat flour with reduced-fat peanut flour at different levels (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%) on physical parameters, proximate composition, sensory profile, and shelf stability of bread were investigated. Loaf volume, specific volume, and crumb density were significantly (p .05) reduced with increasing level of substitution with the peanut flour. Peanut flour had significant (p .05) improvement on the protein content and reduction in carbohydrate content of loaves. Consumers preferred the taste aroma and color of the peanut-wheat flour composite loaves at 20% peanut flour inclusion. Freshly baked composite peanut-wheat bread loaves with 10% level of peanut substitution had higher overall acceptability than 100% wheat flour formulation but less microbial stability during storage. Reduced fat-peanut has potential application for improving the nutritional quality and shelf stability of wheat flour bread. Practical applicationsThe demand for convenient alternative to conventional foods is on the increase with the dynamics of the world's social values, lifestyles, and demographic trends. Having peanut incorporated into dough (as one food system) will offer convenience to consumer and therefore add value to bread variety on market shelves. Assessing the influence of the peanut flour on bread quality provides first-hand information that can facilitate optimization of the baking process toward commercial production of peanut-wheat flour bread.

No abstract

The nutritional qualities of fufu produced from traditional, brine and backslopping fermentation techniques were evaluated. The cassava roots were steeped in water (1:4 kg/L) for 96 h for the production of traditional‐fermented sample while fermented cassava liquor (10%w/v) was used to initiate fermentation in the backslopping technique. Two‐staged method that involved fermentation and grating was employed for the production of brine‐fermented sample. The resultant “wet fufu” samples were dried at 65C in a cabinet dryer and mechanically milled into flour. The hydrogen cyanide level, proximate composition, functional properties, mineral contents and the sensory evaluation of the flour samples were assessed. Lactic acid bacteria populations comprised more than 95% of the total viable bacteria and remained prominent through the fermentations, while the number of coliforms and moulds declined as the fermentation progressed. Lactobacillus plantarum, L. buchnerii, L. casei were implicated in the brine fermentation. The hydrogen cyanide observed after fermentation and processing were 15.67 ± 0.63 mg/kg, 13.29 ± 0.68 mg/kg and 12.07 ± 0.32 mg/kg for the traditional, brine and backslopping‐fermented samples, respectively. Lowest moisture content (10.61 ± 0.15%) was recorded in backslopping‐fermented sample and highest (12.69 ± 0.34%) in traditional‐fermented sample. The ash and carbohydrate contents range from 0.76 ± 0.23% to 0.92 ± 0.27% and 82.57 ± 0.56% to 84.03 ± 0.58%, respectively. Higher protein contents were observed in brine (2.25 ± 0.19%) and backslopping (2.32 ± 0.13%) fermentations while the lowest crude fiber content (0.84 ± 0.43%) was obtained in the brine‐fermented sample. The results of the functional properties show similar trend. Brine and backslopping fermentation techniques offer lighter “fufu” flours and dough as indicated by the lower swelling index (3.16 ± 0.09 g/g and 2.66 ± 0.18 g/g, respectively) and bulk density (0.65 ± 0.03 g/mL and 0.57 ± 0.03 g/mL, respectively). The traditional‐fermented sample had the highest water absorption capacity (4.89 ± 0.06%). Brine fermentation significantly (P < 0.05) increased the Ca (0.235 ± 0.004 mg/kg), Na (0.555 ± 0.055 mg/kg) and K (0.504 ± 0.009 mg/kg) contents of fufu flour than the traditional fermentation which were 0.162 ± 0.003 mg/kg, 0.0097 ± 0.011 mg/kg and 0.151 ± 0.003 mg/kg respective. Sensory scores showed that production of fufu using brine fermentation is more preferred than traditional fermentation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In recent times, attention has been drawn to the enrichment of protein in cassava products by various methods. However, brine and backslopping fermentation techniques of cassava roots are valuable biotechnological approach in achieving this. Because cassava has been recognized as a suitable crop for micronutrient intervention in Africa, its planting and processing into various products like “fufu” flour should be encouraged. Fabrication of cheap local dryer, which can hygienically convert the “fufu wet cake” into flou...