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J. G. Katebarirwe1, F. Nabugoomu2, and F. ISABIRYE MURANGA1. (1) Faculty of Agriculture, Makerere Univ., Kampala, Uganda, (2) Faculty of Science, Makerere Univ., Kampala, Uganda The cooking banana (matooke) was identified as a target food crop for development in Uganda due to its high contribution to dietary status amidst a background of increasingly high levels of malnutrition and food surpluses in the country. The use of matooke as a food is however constrained by its bulk when cooked and poor sustainability as an industrial raw material. The aim of this study was to increase the utilization of matooke and the closely related hybrid varieties by producing value- added, banana-based products with good consumer attributes for the local and international market. Soy flour and hybrid bananas were substituted into raw and two types of pre-gelatinized matooke flour. The pre-gelatinized matooke flours were produced using electric drying and extrusion cooking. Quality was evaluated based on consumer acceptability and preference characteristics of the porridges produced. A quadratic response surface model was used to determine the optimal soy and hybrid banana flour levels. The findings indicated that the optimal soy levels were 18.2, 17.8, and 6.9%, while the optimal hybrid banana levels were 19.3, 28.8, and 78.2%, for raw, precooked, and extruded matooke flours, respectively. Furthermore, the optimal ratios for soy and hybrid banana flours varied with the matooke flour processing technique. Extrusion cooking was reported as the more appropriate technology for hybrid banana incorporation in soy fortified matooke-based porridges. It is recommended that the above ratios be adopted for industrial production of instant weaning porridges.
Session 5, Exotic fruit and vegetable products from Africa: Utilization and market opportunities
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |