EFFECT OF PROCESSING METHODS ON THE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL QUALITY OF LAFUN AND SENSORY QUALITY OF LAFUN DOUGH (“AMALA”)

Lafun is a traditional Nigerian fermented cassava food product produced by traditional, grating and chipping methods. The lafun samples were analysed for physico-chemical properties and sensory qualities. The chipping method had the highest lafun yield of 55.35% while grating and traditional methods had 52.20% and 50.30% yield respectively. Lafun sample from the traditional method showed lowest water absorption of 3.70 ml/g and swelling index of 2.50 while higher values were obtained for grating and chipping methods. The bulk densities in lafun were ranged from 0.50 g/ml and 0.59 g/ml. The starch measurements indicated that starch constituted 78.0% to 79.8% of lafun produced. The cyanogenic potentials of lafun flour and lafun dough reduced from 65.60 mgHCN/Kg in the raw cassava roots to a range of 1.86 to 5.85 mgHCN/Kg in the lafun flour and 0.83 to 2.86 mgHCN/Kg in lafun dough. The protein content of lafun ranged between 1.0%-2.65% while the fibre content ranged between 1.11%-2.87%. The lafun samples were acidic with pH between 4.60 and 5.12. There was no significant difference in the colour, odour and flavor of Lafun dough prepared from flour of the chipping and grating methods. Chipping method was the most effective method for achieving overall acceptability of lafun.