Abstract
The study was carried out between March, 2012 and January, 2013 at the University for Development Studies, Nyankpala campus, Ghana. The objectives of the study were to characterize farmer shea nut varieties to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the shea nut butter and determine appropriate shea nut quality for the domestic market. The shea nuts were characterized as T1 (small nuts), T2 (medium nuts), T3 (big nuts) and T4 (very big nuts). These nuts were arranged in a completely randomized design and replicated three times for shea nut butter extraction and assessed for free fatty acid (FFA), moisture content and sensory quality. The study reveals strong correlation between shea nut size and butter quality with bigger shea nuts recording lower FFA and moisture content hence higher butter quality. There were differences in colour and texture of the shea butter extracted from the different shea nut sizes. It is recommended that, further research be carried out at different geographical locations to assess the effect of shea nut size on butter quality. Key words: Shea kernel, free fatty acid, moisture content, sensory quality.
Highlights
Shea nut is known as ‘Kpihi’, ‘Nyuuni’ and ‘Kyuuma’among the Dagomba, Frafra and Wala people of Ghana, respectively
The crude butter on top was collected, washed in clean water and boiled to separate the oil from the Figure 1 shows the levels of free fatty acid (FFA) in shea butter extracted from shea kernels
Shea butter extracted from big nuts recorded the lowest mean FFA value of 1.133 (Figure 1)
Summary
Among the Dagomba, Frafra and Wala people of Ghana, respectively. It is obtained from the fruit of shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), which exists in the wild and grows in an uncultivated state in most parts of Africa. The kernel, according to Axtell et al (1993) contains about 60% edible fat (shea butter) and the residual product, from which the butter is extracted (shea cake), is an excellent ingredient for livestock feed production. Shea butter is as good as table oil because of its high nutritive value. It is widely used locally for curing leprosy and other ailments.
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