Prediction of Sensorial Properties (Color and Taste) of Amala, a Paste From Yam Chips Flour of West Africa, Through Flour Biochemical Properties

Abstract

Color and taste are permanent features of amala, a traditional thick paste obtained from yam chips flour. To assess these attributes, 23 yam chips presenting various quality attributes were processed. The sensory attributes of their derived amala were determined and some biochemical characteristics of yam flours measured. A panel defined five main taste attributes for amala: sweetness, bitterness, acidity, fermented, and roasted tastes. Amala color was measured instrumentally and sensory scores were highly correlated with flour biochemical analyses; amala sweetness was positively correlated with glucose and fructose content of the flour, whereas amala acidity and fermented taste were linked to organic acids and lactic acid contents of flour, respectively. In addition, darkness, bitterness, and roasted tastes of amala could be tightly predicted by multiple regression analysis from phenolic compound and glucose-fructose contents. Phenolic content of yam flour plays thus a key role on sensorial quality of amala. However, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities were almost null in yam flours and their specific role on yam flour phenolic content needs to be clarified.

Microbial population and physico-chemical composition of an African Fish based flavouring agent and taste enhancer

“…After centrifugation of the food suspension at 4140 rpm for 5 min, the supernatant was collected and filtrated through a 0.45 µm microporous membrane before the determination of organic acid contents (Mestres et al, 2004).…”

“…Injection volume was 20 µl and organic acids were detected at 210 nm. Citric, malic, lactic, formic, acetic, propionic acids were identified by retention and spectral data (Mestres et al, 2004).…”

Effects of cultivar and harvesting conditions (age, season) on the texture and taste of boiled cassava roots

“…Total cyanide was determined, using the method described by Essers, Van der Grift, and Voragen (1996), modified by Padonou et al (2005). Soluble sugar content was determined by HPLC using an HPX87H column (Biorad, Hercules, USA) eluted with 5 mM sulphuric acid, using a refractometric detector (Mestres, Dorthe, Akissoe, & Hounhouigan, 2004). Sugar power (SP) was calculated according to Schaafsma (Schaafsma, 2008) as follows:…”

Traditional production technology, consumption and quality attributes of toubani: A ready-to-eat legume food from West Africa

“…They reported that the yams from the kokoro group are more preferred by consumer than that of Florido. Also, other studies pointed out that yams tubers of kokoro group were mostly used for dried yam processing and its thick paste (amala) is generally the best preferred by consumers (Akissoé et al, 2001;Mestres et al, 2004). However, illegal substances such as fumigant type topstoxin and endosulfan (claimed by 33.3 and 29.3% of processors, respectively) are incorporated directly in cowpea grains and dried yams to control insects that attack during storage, while to ensure adequate dispersion, fumigants are often applied with airmoving equipment.…”