Influence of traditional cooking methods on proximate composition, dietary fibre, keeping quality and consumer preference of biofortified fermented cassava fufu

Abstract

Proximate, dietary fibre, keeping quality compositions and consumer preference of traditional prepared fufu were evaluated. Freshly harvested TMS419 and TMS1368 white root and yellow root cassava tubers weighing 30kg respectively were purchased from Imo state Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). The cassava was peeled, washed, fermented for three days and sieved to get the cassava paste which was traditionally processed by boiling and stirring methods. The samples were labeled A (white boiled cassava fufu), B (white stirred cassava fufu), C (yellow boiled cassava fufu) and D (yellow stirred cassava fufu). A cross-sectional study design was used in selecting 300 respondents using multi-staged sampling technique for consumer preference. A pretested, structured and validated questionnaire was used in collecting data from the respondents. Chemical analysis was carried out to determine the proximate composition, dietary fibre, microbial analysis, and consumer preference. Data was coded and analyzed using Statistical product for service solution (SPSS) version 22.0. Proximate composition showed that sample D was significantly (p<0.05) higher in moisture (62.68%), protein (1.43%), fat (0.34%), fibre (1.02%), ash (0.60%), (37.00%) and dietary fibre (2.8%) while moisture was significantly (p<0.05) higher in sample D (62.68%). The result on microbial load showed that at day 3, sample A had the highest amount of microbial load (9.67x10⁵cfu/g). Majority (76.0%) of the consumers preferred boiling method of fufu preparation, 27% preferred boiling method due to its aroma. More than half (55.3%) and (51%) reported that stirred fufu is easier to prepare and with high quality than boiled fufu respectively. This study observed that white cassava fufu was richer in nutrients, yellow cassava fufu had longer keeping quality and white boiled cassava fufu was mostly preferred.

Keywords: Cassava fufu, boiling, stirring, dietary fibre, consumer preference