Pasting Properties of Composite Flour Made from Sorghum, Millet and African Yam Bean

The aim of this research was to produce acceptable ‘fufu’ from a mixture of sorghum, millet, and African yam bean flours that will have a moderate carbohydrate and protein content with most optimized texture. The functional and sensory properties of flour blends produced from Sorghum, Millet and African yam bean was studied. Sorghum, Millet and African yam bean were processed into flour and mixed at different ratios to obtain composite flours. The flour formulations obtained were analyzed for water absorption capacity, bulk density, least gelation concentration , and viscosity .The water absorption capacity ranged from 1.00 to 3.00, the bulk density ranged from 0.56 to 0.82;the least gelation concentration ranged from 5.77 to 6.87,while the viscosity ranged from 0.956 to 9.30.Also proximate composition of the individual flours before formulation was analyzed, it ranged from 6.13 to 8.46 moisture, 2.00 to 4.67 ash, 0.17 to 8.00 fiber,5.47 to 8.61 fat, 7.57 to 21.84 protein, 58.34 to 69.27 carbohydrate.The sensory values ranged from 5.60 to 6.45 for taste; 4.25 to 6.85 for colour; 5.15 to 6.80 for texture; 3.85 to 5.70 for aroma; 5.45 to 6.45 acceptability. Sample 10 (with the ratio of 40:70:20) had the highest rating for general acceptability. It was observed that sample 1(with the ratio of 60:50:60) had the lowest rating in taste and aroma. The mixture components that could produce optimum texture was determined through optimization plot. This work has demonstrated that acceptable ‘fufu’ with moderate protein and carbohydrate could be successfully produced using composite flours of sorghum, millet and African yam bean.