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Abstract

Cowpea and sweet potato were used for their nutritional and functional properties; thus the objective of this study was to determine the physicofunctional and sensory properties of cowpea flour based recipes (akara) and incorporated with sweet potato. Moisture, protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrate were in the range of 7.33 to 9.75, 11.66 to 20.98, 1.51to3.49, 2.48 to 2.73, and 65.38 to 76.28% respectively. Water and oil absorption capacities ranged between 1.64 and 2.52 and, 1.67 and 2.04 g/g, respectively. Bulk density and water solubility ranged between 0.86 and 0.90 g/mL, and 1.19 to 2.01 g/100g respectively. Lowest swelling power was recorded for cowpea flour while the highest value was observed for the composite cowpea-sweet potato (50-50%) flour. The overall acceptability of the akara sensory properties was the 90-10% composite. The results indicated that the addition of sweet potato in making akara had significant effect on its properties