Effects of different coagulants on the physico-chemical, microbial and sensory properties of Wara, a Nigerian soft soy-cheese

Nigerian soft cheese often referred to as wara was produced from soya bean milk using coagulants from lime, alum and steep water. Effects of these coagulants on the yield, proximate composition, functional properties, microbial loads and sensory properties were evaluated. The result revealed that different coagulants used had no significant (p ≥ 0.05) effect on yield of the cheeses. The result for the proximate composition shows that, different coagulants used influenced all the proximate parameters except the protein content. Similarly, coagulants used significantly affected the water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, foam capacity and gelation capacity. However, the bulk density was not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) affected. Steep water coagulated cheese had the highest total plate count. The result for sensory properties shows that, lime gave the best cheese in terms of general acceptability. Cheese produced from steep water as a coagulant gave the best proximate attributes, however, its high total plate count calls for concern.Key words: local cheese, proximate, microbial, sensory and functiona

Chemical composition and sensory acceptability of partially gelatinised pasta produced from blends of wheat, bambara nut and cassava flours

Pasta products were produced from partially gelatinized blends of wheat, cassava and bambaranut nut flours. The three flours from wheat, cassava and bambaranut nut were blended in the following ratios: 100% wheat flour, 64:10:26, 60:12:28, 56:14:30, 52:16:32 and 48:18:34 flour blends, representing samples A, B, C, D, E and F, respectively. 180 ml of water and 65 ml of vegetable oil were added to each blend and thoroughly mixed to form a dough. The dough from each blend was steamed for 20 min to partially gelatinize it and pressed manually through home pasta making machine. Pasta made from these blends were subjected to proximate analyses, sensory evaluation, mineral determination and physical properties evaluation. The result of the proximate composition showed significant (p < 0.05) variation in all the parameters measured. Also, various blends significantly influenced the mineral composition of the products. In physical properties, pasta products were significantly different in height, thickness and expansion ratio but, not significantly different (p > 0.05) in deformation strength. The sensory properties of the pasta products were significantly (p < 0.05) different from each other. However, pasta with high ratio of bambaranut flour received less sensory acceptability. Pasta with the least amount of bambaranut and cassava flour in this study compared favourably with the control. Key words: pasta, wheat, bambaranut, cassava, functiona