Storage Stability of Deep-fried Cowpea Products (AKARA) Incorporated with Soy-flour and Aframomum danielli

Aims: To investigate the effect of incorporating soy-flour and Aframomum danielli on quality characteristics and keeping qualities of deep-fried cowpea products (akara).
Study Design: Two-way ANOVA.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, between January 2014 and November 2014.
Methodology: Four different samples of akara were prepared using 20% soy-flour and 3% Aframomum danielli. The choice of these levels was based on their acceptability during the preliminary trial. The fried akara samples were packaged in foil paper and stored at room temperature over a period of 4 days. Effect of soy-flour and Aframomum denielli on proximate composition and sensory quality of akara were evaluated. Changes in microbial load, free fatty acid value (FFA), peroxide value (PV) and thiobabarturic acid value (TBA) during the storage period were also determined.
Results: The protein content ranged from 23.5±0.4 to 26.2±0.3; ash content ranged from 3.1±0.2 to 3.57±0.3; crude fibre ranged from 3.27±0.3 to 3.63±0.4; crude fat ranged from 23.21±0.6 to 26.14±0.4 and carbohydrate ranged from 43.32±1.3 to 44.24±0.3. The results showed that at 20% substitution, soy-flour lowered the fat content of akara by 8.2% and increased the protein content by 10.7%. Addition of Aframomum danielli did not significantly (P≤0.05) affect the proximate composition of akara samples. Incorporation of soy-flour at 20% produced acceptable akara without affecting the sensory attributes of the akara while on the other hand, akara samples spiced with 3% Aframomum danielli were significantly (P≤0.05) rated lower than non- spiced samples in term of taste, colour, texture, aroma and overall acceptability. The results of storage stability of akara over a 4- day of storage period showed that akara samples spiced with 3% Aframomum danielli had lower microbial load, PV, FFA and TBA values when compared to non-spiced samples.
Conclusion: Acceptable akara with low fat content and high protein content were produced by substituting cowpea flour with 20% soy-flour. Aframomum danielli has the potential to be used as preservative ingredient in the production of akara. Hence, utilization of soy-flour and A. danielli in the production of akara would produce good quality akara with low fat content and elongated shelf life.