Studies on the Rheological, Microbiological and Sensory Qualities of Weaning Food Formulated from Pearl Millet, Wheat, Cowpea and Groundnut

Weaning foods were formulated in a cereal-legume combination using pearl millet, wheat, cowpea and groundnut. The pearl millet was fermented to produce “Akamu”, the wheat was germinated while the cowpea and groundnut were roasted separately. The weaning foods were formulated as follows: Pearl millet (60%)-cowpea (20%)-wheat (10%)-groundnut (10%) (PCWG); Pearl millet (60%)-cowpea (30%)-wheat (10%) (PCW). Pearl millet (60%)-groundnut (30%)-wheat (10%) (PGW). Significant difference (p≤0.05) was observed in grain hardness of pearl millet (3.00±0.01), wheat (4.03±0.05), cowpea (2.96±0.05) and groundnut (0.93±0.05). Significant differences (p≤0.05) were also observed in the 100 grain volume, 100 grain weight and density of the cereals and grains. A decrease in pH with a concomitant increase in Titratable Acidity (TA) was observed during 72 hours fermentation of pearl millet. Low apparent viscosity PCWG (1441.66±1.14 cps), PCW (1432.66±1.36 cps) and PGW (1410±1.15 cps) were observed in the three complementary weaning food blends. Low Water Absorption Capacity (WAC) for PCWG (0.86±0.08 g/g), PCW (1.05±0.12 g/g) and PGW (0.92±0.14 g/g) were also observed. Predominant microorganisms (Saccharomyces cerevisae, Lactobacillus plantarum, Micrococus lateaus and Streptococcus lactics) isolated during the production of ‘‘Akamu” from Pearl millet shows that the weaning foods are free from pathogenic microorganisms. The result of the sensory evaluation indicated that in terms of colour, odour, taste and texture there were no significant differences except in the overall acceptability where the weaning food PCWG was preferred to PCW and PGW.