Production and Nutrient Composition of Fufu Made from a Mixture of Cassava and Cowpea Flours

Journal of Culinary Science & Technology ISSN: 1542-8052 (Print) 1542-8044 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wcsc20 Production and Nutrient Composition of Fufu Made From a Mixture of Cassava and Cowpea Flours C. A. Agbon , E. O. Ngozi & O. O. Onabanjo To cite this article: C. A. Agbon , E. O. Ngozi & O. O. Onabanjo (2010) Production and Nutrient Composition of Fufu Made From a Mixture of Cassava and Cowpea Flours, Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 8:2-3, 147-157, DOI: 10.1080/15428052.2010.511096 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2010.511096 Published online: 03 Dec 2010. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 57 Citing articles: 1 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=wcsc20 Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 8:147–157, 2010 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1542-8052 print/1542-8044 online DOI: 10.1080/15428052.2010.511096 Production and Nutrient Composition of Fufu Made From a Mixture of Cassava and Cowpea Flours C. A. AGBON, E. O. NGOZI, and O. O. ONABANJO Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria High consumption of cassava products such as cassava fufu char- acterize the food habits of rural dwellers. Although cassava roots are rich in calories, they are grossly deficient in proteins, fats, and some minerals and vitamins. The nutritional hazard of cassava dependency includes chronic protein deficiency. Research toward the enrichment of cassava fufu is needed, especially for children under 5 years. This study aims to develop fufu from flours of fermented cassava and cowpea, evaluate the new cassava–cowpea fufu produced using sensory evaluation procedures, and deter- mine their micronutrient content. Three cassava–cowpea flours BZC, FZC, and FIC were obtained. Cassava–cowpea fufu BZC was produced from cowpea seeds that were first boiled and then fermented for 2 days (48 hours). Cassava–cowpea fufu FZC was made from cowpea seeds that went through 2 days (48 hours) of fermentation, and cassava–cowpea fufu FIC was produced from cowpea seeds that were soaked for one day (24 hours). These cassava— cowpea fufus were evaluated using sensory methods and then sent to the laboratory for the determination of calcium, iron, and zinc using standard procedures. Data were analyzed using evaluation scores that were rated according to the level of acceptance or rejec- tion of the cassava–cowpea fufu. BZC cassava–cowpea fufu was the cassava–cowpea fufu of choice and it had a higher protein content of 4.92 g than control cassava fufu FFF (0.47 g). It also had higher calcium, iron, and zinc content (79.47, 1.09, and 0.82 mg, This study was supported by Nestle Foundation for the study of nutritional problems in the world. Address correspondence to C. A. Agbon, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2240, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. E-mail: chinezeagbon@ yahoo.co.uk 147 148 C. A. Agbon et al. respectively) compared to cassava fufu FFF, which had calcium, iron, and zinc values of 75.64, 0.39, and 0.19 mg, respectively. The cassava–cowpea fufu contained significantly higher amounts of protein and micronutrients than the commonly consumed cassava fufu. The addition of cowpea to cassava fufu will improve nutrition derived from cassava consumption among young children in rural areas who depend on monotonous cassava meals. This study has shown that cassava fufu can be enriched with cowpea to increase its protein and micronutrients content. KEYWORDS Cassava, cowpea, calcium, iron, zinc INTRODUCTION Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) is emerging as a dominant staple of pri- mary or secondary importance in many developing countries of the humid and sub-humid tropics in Africa and elsewhere (Okigbo, 1980). Cassava comprised about 25% of all food crops consumed in Nigeria in 1968 (Oke, 1968). In 2004 studies found that the most frequently consumed staple is maize, followed by cassava, rice, and sorghum (Maziya-Dixon et al., 2004). There are several cassava-based food preparations. For main meals, cassava can be made into gari or fufu (fermented wet cassava or cassava flour; Oyewole, 1991). Cassava flour is produced through the submerged fermentation of peeled cassava roots in water. After fermentation, the fermented cassava is subjected to sun drying and milled in order to have flour (Oyewole & Odunfa, 1988). Cassava is a starchy staple whose roots are very rich in carbohydrates, a major source of energy. In fact, the cassava plant is the highest producer of carbohydrates among crop plants, with perhaps the exception of sugarcane. Although cassava tubers are rich in calories, they are grossly deficient in proteins, fat, and some minerals and vitamins. Consequently, cassava is of lower nutritional value than cereals, legumes, and even some other root and tuber crops such as yams (Okigbo). Fermentation of the roots, however, results in protein enrichment by a factor of some 6 to 8 (Hendershot, 1972). The nutritional hazard of cassava dependency includes kwashiorkor among children following weaning because of an imbalance of protein rela- tive to calorie intake. A mere reduction of the amount of cassava consumed will only serve to aggravate the situation, because seasonal shortfalls in available food supplies often reduce intake to only 70 to 80% of the rec- ommended calorie intake in parts of Nigeria and Ghana (Okigbo, 1980). Because there is heavy reliance on cheap, starchy staples as sources of energy, there is a need in the food system for increasing the amounts of protein-rich foods such as legumes and animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, Cassava and Cowpea Flours 149 milk, etc.). The major problem with feeding protein-rich foods in rural areas is that the amount available depends on income, and even when incomes are high, nutritional ignorance and certain food habits make it difficult for adequate nutritional status to be attained (Okigbo). Thus, although meat in soups serves as an accompaniment to the cassava fufu and constitutes a protein enrichment measure in the diet, local customs that deny meat to children and certain family members may result in protein malnutrition. It must be recognized that there is a need for an effective intervention to improve the protein content of cassava. In Nigeria it has been found that the most frequently consumed legume is groundnut, followed by cowpea (Maziya-Dixon et al., 2004). Cowpea is prepared for consumption in grain, split, and ground forms in different parts of Africa. Grain is the commonly consumed form in Nigeria, which is then processed traditionally to prepare many dishes. Traditional milling and other processing practices are time and labor intensive, cumbersome, and expose the products to losses and adulteration. Innovative processing technologies include decortication (Henshaw, McWatters, Oguntunde, & Phillips, 1996) and fermentation (Phillips, Chinnan, Branch, Miller, & McWatters, 1988). Fermentation is widely applied in the processing of cereals for the preparation of a wide variety of dishes in developing countries. Cowpea fermentation has been used to improve the protein quality and quantity of fermented maize dough (Obiri-Danso, 1994). Cowpeas as a food source have not been utilized fully, especially in developing countries. Production of cowpea flour has been published (Phillips et al.). New cowpea-based products include weaning mixes, new food formulations, food items developed through blending, and fortification (Elin Halléna & Ainsworth, 2004; Griffith, Castell-Perez, & Griffith, 1998; Malleshi, Daodu, & Chandrasekhar, 1989; Uwaegbute & Nnanyelugo, 1987). Increasing lev- els of cowpea flour in the blends resulted in changed flour composition such as ash and protein contents (Ashaye, Fasoyiro, & Lawal, 2001). To the best of our knowledge this is the first trial at incorporating cowpea into fufu. MATERIALS AND METHODS Production of the Fermented Cassava Flour Cassava fufu (FFF) was produced by buying cassava tubers and cleaning. The tubers were peeled with a knife and cut into cylindrical pieces. Tubers were washed with water to ferment for a period of 96 hours. The tubers were allowed to undergo natural fermentation under ambient conditions. As in traditional methods, no inoculum was introduced and the fermentation temperature was not controlled. At the end of fermentation, the resulting soft fermented tubers were hand pulverized and sieved in water to remove 150 C. A. Agbon et al. the coarse fiber materials. The resulting mash was allowed to settle and the top water was decanted; the sediment wet cassava mash was sun dried for two days and milled (Oyewole, 1991). Production of the Fermented Cowpea Flour Cowpea was chosen because it is a frequently consumed legume among Nigerians (Maziya-Dixon et al., 2004). Cowpea will also retain the char- acteristic white color of cassava fufu. All cowpea flours were fermented to improve the nutritional quality and flavor of the flours. Cowpea seeds were bought and processed into three cowpea flours BZC, FCC, and FIC (see Figure 1). Cassava–cowpea fufu BZC was produced from the mixture of cassava flour and cowpea flour that was produced from cowpea seeds that were first boiled (to remove the beany flavor) and then fermented for two days (48 hours). Cassava–cowpea fufu FZC is a mixture of cassava fufu flour Cow pea Cow pea Cow pea Winnowing/sorting Winnowing/sorting Winnowing/sorting Wet dehulling/washing Wet dehulling/washing Wet dehulling/washing Boiling (5 mins) Fermentation (48 hours) Fermentation (48 hours) Soaking (24 hours) Sun drying Sun drying Sun drying Milling Milling Milling Sieving Sieving Sieving Store cow pea flour FZC Store cow pea flour BZC Store cow pea flour FIC FIGURE 1 Production of three types of cowpea flour.

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