Improved Energy and Sensory Properties of Instant Porridge Made from a Roasted Mixture of Grated Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes and Flour Made from Shredded Sun Dried Cassava

Abstract

Mozambican diets are often lacking in vitamin A. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) are rich in beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, but are not easily introduced into the diet as the consistency of the porridge made from OFSP is unappetising. Flour made from roasted cassava (garri) produces a palatable porridge with a high energy density. We propose a simple procedure for producing an instant porridge by roasting grated OFSP with flour from shredded sun-dried cassava (G-OFSP). This is an easily adopted variant of the traditional garri-making process. The consistency of this porridge made from milled G-OFSP (G-OFSPf) was compared to the consistency of porridges made from maize flour (Mf), cassava flour (Cf), OFSP flour (OFSPf) and garri flour (Gf) at 43˚C, and then correlated to the perceived characteristics assessed by a sensory panel...