Subjective and objective assessment of 'agbelima' (cassava dough) quality

Investigation into developing quality specifications for agbelima - a ferme nted cassava product - led to the identification of aroma, colour, smoothne ss, cohesiveness and sourness as five attributes consumers and producers as sociate with good quality agbelima. A. study was conducted to identify obje ctive indicators of human evaluation of each attribute. The results showed significant differences in total titratable acidity, pH, starch content, ho t paste stability and colour attributes of the agbelima samples. It also sh owed more detectable differences between agbelima samples when uncooked tha n when cooked. Objective indicators were identified for three of the attrib utes - namely colour, smoothness and sourness. The identified indicators we re b* and C* for colour, average particle size for smoothness and pH and to tal titratable acidity for sourness. These results are expected;to aid in e valuating cassava varieties for processing into agbelima, and enhancing rou tine quality control activities. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.