Cassava Pectin and Textural Attributes of Cooked gari (eba) and fufu Dough

Abstract

The textural attributes of cooked gari (eba) and fufu dough may be affected by the pectin content of the cassava roots; thus, exploring the interaction between pectin and the texture attributes of processed products such as gari and fufu may assist the processors and consumers of the product. The pectin and starch contents, and the composition of the amylose/amylopectin ratio, influence most of the textural changes in roots and tubers during processing, and subsequent preparation for consumption. The textural characteristics of the cooked gari (eba) and fufu dough that may be influenced by the pectin content of the cassava roots include hardness, adhesiveness, gumminess, and moldability/cohesiveness. However, there is presently little or no information on the direct relationship between the pectin content of different cassava varieties and the textural attributes of the cooked gari and fufu dough; therefore, there is a need to evaluate the effect of pectin in different cassava varieties on the textural attributes of cooked gari and fufu dough. This will guide gari and fufu producers on the right varieties to be used for gari and fufu to maintain the textural characteristics of the cooked gari and fufu dough preferred by the consumers.

Biophysical and textural attributes as selection indices for replacing the adopted cassava variety with the improved genotype to produce fufu

“…The hardness of the cooked fufu dough was higher in V27 fufu flour (37.33 N/m 2 ) and lower in V7 fufu flour (17.31 N/m 2 ). The low pectin content in the V27 genotype may be responsible for the hardness of the cooked fufu dough (Awoyale et al, 2023). However, any of the cooked fufu dough from the genotypes may be accepted by the consumers based on their geographical locations (Chijioke et al, 2021).…”

“…Calculated as the work area during the second compression divided by the work area during the first, moldability describes how well the product withstands a second deformation in comparison to its first resistance (Awoyale et al, 2023). The cooked fufu dough is typically manually squeezed while being evaluated for its mechanical and geometrical properties, then formed into balls with the hand, dipped into the soup, and consumed; thus, moldability is a desirable textural attribute of cooked fufu dough (Chijioke et al, 2021;Awoyale et al, 2022).…”

“…This is because all the genotypes fall within the same quadrant as the control sample and the moldability (Figure 4). The degree of stretchability refers to how quickly cooked dough regains its original shape after being compressed between the teeth (Awoyale et al, 2023). Since cooked fufu dough is usually swallowed during consumption, stretchability may not be an important textural attribute (Chijioke et al, 2021).…”

“…Gumminess is the amount of energy needed to break down a semi-solid food so that it may be ingested. Cohesiveness is multiplied by hardness to calculate it (Awoyale et al, 2023). Gumminess is an undesirable textural attribute of cooked fufu dough just like adhesiveness (Chijioke et al, 2021), thus cooked fufu dough prepared from V7 fufu flour may be accepted by consumers due to its low gumminess (16.32 N/m 2 ) compared to the cooked fufu dough from V27 fufu flour with high gumminess (34.57 N/m 2 ) (Table 5).…”

Detecting the genetic variants associated with key culinary traits inDioscorea alata

“…It is a desirable trait for traditional dishes like pounded yam in West Africa, where yam is traditionally pounded with a mortar and pestle [19]. Cassava varieties with higher starch content, particularly varieties with a higher proportion of amylopectin, tend to exhibit better moldability due to the retrogradation of starch [20].…”