Comparative Effects of Various Viscosity Reducing Treatments on the Quality Characteristics of a Cowpea-Sorghum Infant Food

Three treatments, exogenous amylase, endogenous amylase (use of germinating cereal on untreated flour, also known as power flour or kimea treatment) and germination, were used to reduce the viscosity of the cereal component of a cowpea-sorghum weaning food. Proximate composition of seed samples and flour blends (ratio 1:1) showed that the samples contained 12–13% protein, 1–2% fat and 352–364 kcal/g. The relative viscosity, reconstitution time, sensory and nutritional properties of the samples given different treatments were evaluated. Viscosity reduction was achieved maximally by the use of exogenous amylase. The sample treated with endogenous amylase had the highest PER (2.1) and digestibility (98.7%). Digestibility values were, however, not significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from one another. The germinated sample had the lowest reconstitution time (180 s.). A commercial weaning food ‘Nutrend’ (Nestle foods) possessed better sensory properties but poorer reconstitutability and viscosity characteristics than treated samples. There is need to improve the sensory characteristics of these products to ensure better consumer acceptance.