Effect of rehydration and fermentation methods on the quality of garri produced from stored cassava chips

Abstract

Garri was produced from cassava chips stored over 3 months by milling the chips before rehydration and mash fermentation by the traditional method (MRT) or backslopping (MRB). Chips were also rehydrated before milling, fermented traditionally (RMT) and then roasted, while garri from fresh cassava tubers fermented traditionally served as control (C). The garri samples were evaluated for pH, cyanide content and sensory acceptability. Garri produced from chips by the RMT method gave pH values of 4.25 on month 0 and increased to 4.91 after 3 months; MRT and MRB decreased from 3.42 to 2.91 and 3.36 to 3.13 respectively. The control garri had a pH of 3.83. The cyanide content of control garri was 100.8 mg/kg; RMT ranged from 67.44 to 65.28 mg/kg; MRT, 79.20 to 67.88 mg/kg and MRB, 72.00 to 56.88 mg/kg. Sensory rating indicated that RMT garri were best accepted within the first 2 months during which they also had the highest pH and the lowest cyanide content. MRB garri was most accepted at the third month; it had intermediate pH values while the cyanide content was lowest at the second and third months. Key words: Cassava chips, rehydration, fermentation, garri, pH, cyanide content, sensory attributes.