Akara, a fried food of West African origin, is made from whipped cowpea paste javored with fresh onion, fresh hot or bell pepper, and salt. Akara has potential for 1J.S. markets as a fully cooked, frozzn, reheatable product. Akara was stored at -18°C for 9 months and compared to freshly prepared akara in selected quality characteristics. Frozen, thawed akara had a higher moisture and lower crude fat content, required significantly less force to shear, and had a lighter, less intense color than freshly prepared product. Frozenlthuwedlreheated akara received lower sensory scores for color, moistness and javor than the fresh product. Analysis of headspace volatiles of freshly prepared akara and akara frozen 3 , 6 and 9 months resulted in fifteen peaks. Two peaks were significantly affected by frozen storage.