Nutritive and organoleptic evaluation of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) smoked with briquette and charcoal

Abstract

Smoking is a preservation method which improves the nutritional value and organoleptic properties of fish. However, consumers are  becoming more aware of possible hazards and detrimental health impacts arising from food they consume and are more demanding in  respect of freshness, freedom from pollutant and other intrinsic qualities of smoked fish. The nutritive and organoleptic qualities of  African Catfish smoked using charcoal and briquette as energy source were assessed. Sensory evaluation was conducted on tenderness,  taste, juiceness, texture, colour and overall acceptability of the smoked fish samples based on 9-point Hedonic scale. Proximate and  nutritive value of the smoked fish was also determined using standard methods. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics.  The mean value of crude protein, ash, ether extract, crude fibre and moisture content were 74.02±10.70, 4.53±1.20, 8.08±0.63, 8.08±0.63, 0.08±0.05 and 6.92±0.97 respectively for charcoal smoked fish samples and 76.86±2.95, 4.73±0.15, 8.08±0.33, 0.07±0.03 and  6.31±0.80 for briquette. The mean overall acceptability was also higher in charcoal (7.85±0.89) than briquette (7.72±0.52). T-test however showed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the overall acceptability between charcoal and briquette. In conclusion,  briquette produce good quality smoked fish just like charcoal.