Assessment of Proximate and Sensory Properties of Gari and Fufu Flour from Cassava Roots Stored for 14 Days

Aims: To investigate the proximate composition gari and fufu flour and the sensory attributes of reconstituted gari and fufu dough processed from cassava roots stored for a period of 14 days.

Study Design: Complete randomized design (CRD)

Place and Duration of Study: Product Development Programme, National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria, between October, 2022 and March, 2023.

Methodology: Four cassava varieties, two white – fleshed (TME 419, NR 87/184), and two bio- fortified varieties (TMS 01/1368 and TMS 07/0539) were stored at ambient conditions for a period of 14 days on shelves. Gari and fufu flour were processed on days 0, 7 and 14 using standard methods. The acceptability of reconstituted gari and fufu dough was determined using a nine-point hedonic ranking scale ranging from 9 (liked extremely) to 1 (disliked extremely).

Results: Proximate composition of the stored roots showed significant decrease in moisture contents with highest percentage of 70.12 ± 0.04 at day 0 and 50.05± 0.04 at day 14 across varieties. Opposite trend was observed in carbohydrate contents of the varieties across the period of storage with values in the range 24.03 ± 0.01 to 44.45 ± 0.01. Fufu flour recorded moisture contents between 7.44 ± 0.03 - 9.03 ± 0.03 while gari had moisture values between 4.12 ± 0.01 to 12.15 ± 0.05 % across all four varieties. Moisture and ash contents of fufu flour and gari were within acceptable maximum limits of 12 % and 3 % Codex Alimentarius standards. Sensory evaluation results showed that storage of cassava roots of varieties NR 87/184, and TME 419 for up to 14 days gave acceptable gari quality while fufu from variety NR 87/184 was most acceptable.

Conclusion: Cassava varieties NR 87/184 and TME 419 could be promoted for gari and fufu processing for longer period up to 14 days after harvest.