Properties and consumer acceptability of selected varieties of maize grown in Ghana

Abstract

Two high-yielding varieties of maize, namely "Dobidi" (Ejura 7843) and "Aburotia" (Tuxpeno P.B. C16), and one local unimproved variety were evaluated for their physical, chemical, functional and sensory properties in relation to their suitability for common Ghanaian traditional maize foods. Effects of variety and soaking time on the milling characteristics were determined by sieve analysis of meals from soaked samples while sensory properties were determined for three traditional maize food products by triangle and preference tests. Significant varietal differences (p˂0.5) were observed in the test weights (kg/hl), the 1000 kernel weights (g) and hull composition of samples tested. The "Dobidi," variety had the highest values for test weight and 1000 kernel weight but the least hull proportion of kernel. Milling properties of grains increased with period of soaking for the "Dobidi," variety while the fineness modulus values for "local" and "Aburotia" varieties did not increase significantly after 36h of soaking. A minimum of 60h of soaking was required for "DobLdi", to attain the same average meal pacticle size as the "local" and "Aburotia" varieties soaked for only 36h. Spontaneous fermentation of dough samples showed nq varietal effect on the development of flavour components as determined by titratable acidity. High consumer preference scores for the traditional maize foods were recorded for all the varieties