Effect of steeping time of milled grains on the quality of Kunnu-Zaki (A Nigerian beverage)

Abstract

Millet grains were steeped in water for varying period of time during “kunun-zaki” production in order to study the effect of the duration of steeping on the quality of “kunu zaki”. Other processing factors were kept constant in the course of this study. Kunun zaki produced from millet grains steeped for 36 h was rated best in terms of sensory characteristics. The steeping period had no significant effect on the specific gravity of the produced “Kunun zaki”. As expected the titratable acidity and pH were inversely proportional, with the latter decreasing and the former increasing during the fermentation-steeping period. The protein content increased between 12 and 48 h steeping time. During the steeping period, the carbohydrates decreased rapidly in the first 12 h. However, the rate of carbohydrates decrease reduced beyond the first 12 h. This may be due to the decrease in the rate of fermentable sugars. Key words: Kunun-zaki, millet, steeping, quality, pH, titratable acidity, sensory.