Porridge is a culturally important and nutritionally valuable food, widely consumed across nations and age groups. In Ethiopia, it is traditionally prepared for lactating women to support postpartum recovery, often using barley as the primary ingredient. Lactating mothers and their offspring face significant nutritional challenges due to their heightened dietary requirements. However, nutrient rich and healthy local crops as tef, chickpea, and pumpkin offer valuable fortification, helping to address nutritional issues. This study aimed to enhance the nutrient content and sensory acceptance of traditional porridge for lactating mothers. Formulation incorporated barley (0%–100%), brown tef (0%–70%), chickpea (0%–30%), and pumpkin (10%) to optimize nutritional benefits by using a D–optimal mixture design. A standard porridge from barley flour (BF) (100%) served as the benchmark. The nutrient compositions, vitamin A, viscosity and sensory attributes were meticulously evaluated. The results revealed that increasing the amounts of tef and chickpea flour (CF) significantly boosted the porridge nutritional profile. Porridges enriched with CF exhibited elevated levels of protein, fat, and calories, whereas those with higher tef content had abundant calcium, iron, and fiber. A blend comprising up to 15% chickpea with BF yielded porridge with sensory qualities on par with that of barley alone. The optimal formulation, consisting of 41% barley, 30% tef, and 29% chickpea, was identified as the superior choice for developing a nutritious porridge with favorable sensory attributes. It significantly increased protein (22.85%), fiber (29.6%), calcium (70.4%), and iron (fivefold), while reductions in viscosity (44.45%) and overall acceptability (OAA) (23.7%) in the acceptable limits compared to control. This research offers insightful strategies for augmenting the nutritional value of traditional porridge, a staple for breastfeeding mothers in Ethiopia.
Marsha et al. (Thu,) studied this question.