Effect of process variables on some quality attributes of instant ‘Akara iwe’-a cassava based fried snack from grits

Abstract

A Box-Behnken (three-factor) response surface design was utilized to determine effect of grits rehydration level (35–45%), frying temperature (155–175 °C) and frying time (7–13 min) on some attributes (moisture, oil, textural parameters and colour) of instant Akara iwe, a cassava based fried snack and optimize the process. Sensory evaluation of the optimized sample to measure its degree of acceptability was conducted including comparison with Akara iwe from raw cassava mash. Frying temperature, frying time and grits rehydration level had significant (p<0.05) effect on moisture content, cohesiveness, springiness and colour change of instant Akara iwe. Based on desirability (71%) index, the optimal process variables for instant Akara iwe were 38% grits rehydration level at 169 °C for 9 min. The oil content of the optimized Akara iwe samples differ significantly (p<0.05) from the reference sample with the former retaining less oil. Similarly, optimized instant akara iwe had higher hardness (789.23 N) and chewiness (382.2 N) values than the reference samples and were significantly (p<0.05) different. Panelists preferred the optimized samples in terms of colour, oiliness and aroma.