Abstract:
Noodles are now a common food in the World, eaten by many from different
cultural backgrounds and races. However, noodles made from wheat are often
seen as less healthy. As people become more health-conscious, researchers are
experimenting with different ingredients to make noodles that are healthier,
gluten-free, and meet changing food preferences. The study was centered on the
development of gluten-free noodles from Casava-Bambara groundnut composite
flour and the determination of the functional, textural, colour, sensory and
nutritional composition of the resulting noodles. A simplex centroid mixture
design in Minitab software was used for the formulations with the two mixture
variables: Cassava flour [X1 (% w/w)] and Bambara groundnut flour [X2 (%
w/w)] equaling 100 %. The ash, protein and fibre contents significantly increased
(from 0.84 % to 1.52 %, 4.16 % to 7.27 % and 3.01 % to 4.48 % respectively)
whereas the moisture and carbohydrate contents decreased (from 8.35 % to 7.35
and 87.23 % to 82.84 % respectively) as the percentage of Bambara Groundnut
Flour increased. In addition, zinc, calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium for
Bambara Groundnut Flour incorporated noodles increased. Cooking losses were
also minimal for formulations containing Bambara groundnut flour compared to
the noodles prepared from 100 % Cassava Flour. Noodles with 30 % Bambara
Groundnut Flour was the most preferred after the sensory evaluation. The results
are relevant for utilizing Bambara groundnut as an ingredient in gluten-free
noodle production as its addition improved the functional properties, nutritional
composition and sensory attributes.
