Acceptability of Instant Cassava-soybean Based Complementary Food by Weaning Mothers

Aims: The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate some functional properties and sensory qualities of cassava-soybean complementary food using a relatively cheaper method; Steam Blanching

Study Design: Qualitative and quantitative.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Ayeduase Community Clinic in Kumasi, Ghana between August 2014 and May 2015.

Methodology: The processing and heat treatment used were varied (fermentation (24 h) and non-fermentation; steam blanching (15 min) and non-steam blanching) to obtain Fermented Steam Blanched (FSB) blend, Non-Fermented Steam Blanched (NFSB) blend, Fermented Non-Steam Blanched (FNSB) blend and Non-Fermented Non-Steam Blanched (NFNSB) blend. Four cassava-soybean blends in a 65:35 ratio were processed. The products were formulated using 75% cassava-soybean blend, 20% sugar and 5% mango. Fifty (50) mothers assessed the attributes of the formulated blends using preference test with 5-point hedonic scale.

Results: Results showed that the flavour and taste of steam blanched blends were most preferred while non-steam blanched blends were most preferred in terms of smoothness. There was no significant difference between the acceptability of the blends in terms of colour at p = 0.05. Steam blanching significantly affected the sensory qualities and functional properties; FSB and NFSB were scored 2.02±0.73 and 2.05±0.85 while FNSB and NFNSB scored 2.19± 0.74 and 2.12±0.83 respectively in terms of preference of their sensory attributes. Steam blanched blends had higher bulk densities and swelling index as compared to non-steam blanched blends. Fermentation decreased the swelling power of the blends but not at a significant level because of the shorter duration (less than 48 h) Fermented Steam Blanched product scored the highest in terms of all the sensory attributes and had low bulk density (0.70±0.02) and swelling index (2.63± 0.13).

Conclusion: The study showed that Steam Blanching could be employed in developing an instant cassava-based complementary food capable of meeting the nutritional needs of children 9-11 months old.