Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822) Smoked with Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Azadirachta indica Wood

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the sensory and nutritive value of Clarias gariepinus smoked using two different sources of energy from neem and eucalyptus wood. The fuel was sourced from the tree Azadirachta indica and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The fish were smoked using the local smoking kilns made from drums with a wire mesh placed on each of them. The neem/eucalyptus wood was introduced from the vent. Temperature of 70 °C was maintained in the smoking oven for the first hour, then it was reduced to 40 – 50 °C until the end of the drying period. There were also significant differences in proximate composition in terms of moisture, protein, lipid and crude ash content, between the fish smoked using neem and eucalyptus (P<0.05). The sensory evaluation was carried out by a 10- man evaluation panel using the 7-point hedonic scale and the nutritional composition was evaluated according to methods outlined by one-way analysis of variance. The sensory evaluation showed there was a significant difference (P<0.05) between the fish smoked using neem and eucalyptus wood in color, flavor and general acceptability. According to the results of the sensory evaluation, it could be said that eucalyptus was a better energy source for smoked C. gariepinus than neem wood.