Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Home-Made Noodles from Wheat, Bambara Nut and Carrot Composite Flours

Abstract

In this study, the quality of home-made wheat noodles enriched with bambara nut and carrot flours, with respect to their proximate composition, minerals, vitamins and sensory properties, were investigated following standard methods. The proximate results showed significant improvements in crude protein (9.30 to 14.94 %), crude fibre (1.10 to 2.85 %), crude fat (5.26 to 7.41 %) and ash (1.25 to 1.60 %) following fortification with bambara nut flour. The mineral content of the noodles recorded improvements in calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus following the addition of bambara nut. Significant improvement in pro-vitamin A content from undetectable amount to as high as 607 μg/100 g was observed following enrichment with carrot flour. Sensory evaluation revealed that the home-made noodles (except 100 % bambara flour noodle) were generally acceptable in terms of the sensory parameters analysed. The optimized product had 60.65 % more protein when compared to the control.

Keywords: Extrusion, underfive, extruder, malnutrition, home-made.