Abstract:
Maize is a major food staple in most of the sub- Saharan African countries. Maize flour is mostly
rich in carbohydrates, which provide energy to the human body. Nutritionally, maize flour is
deficient in the other major diet requirements of proteins, vitamins and essential minerals. In this
study, maize flour was enriched using pumpkin and soybean seed flours and the sensory qualities
of the resulting composite flours were evaluated. Four formulations of maize, soy bean and
pumpkin seeds flours were prepared by compositing various proportions of each ingredient. The
flours were produced by grinding the seeds using a hammer mill to a particle size fine enough to
go through a 1 mm sieve size. The composite flours were using to prepare stiff porridges (ugali),
which is the popular format of preparation for this meal. Sensory quality of the flours and stiff
porridges were evaluated. Sensory attributes evaluated for the composite flour ugali were aroma,
color, texture, general appearance, smell, flavour, hardness, springiness, oiliness, taste and
general acceptability. There was no significant difference in smell, appearance, texture, flavour,
hardness, springiness across the formulations among the panelists.
A significant difference was observed on color, oiliness, taste, appearance. The mean score was
above 5 for all parameters, which is in the middle of the 9- point hedonic scale. These findings
indicate that generally all the formulations were accepted. The instrumentally evaluated results
using a texture analyzer indicated a significant difference in hardness, cohesiveness and
springiness in the stiff porridge samples. But all samples were accepted regardless of the
differences, indicating that the differences were not big enough to influence the human sensory
organs.
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