African Journal of Food Science and Technology ((ISSN: 2141-5455) Vol. 6(1) pp. 12-17, January, 2015 DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/ajfst.2014.109 Available online @http://www.interesjournals.org/AJFST Copyright ©2015 International Research Journals Full Length Research Paper Effect of Grewia venusta(‘Ururu’) mucilage on the physicochemical and sensory properties of fried cake (‘akara’) prepared from bambara groundnut seed flour Alobo, Arubi P* and Arueya, Gibson L. Department of Food Technology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. * Corresponding Author. E-mail: apalobo@yahoo.com Tel: 234- 806 3370 228 Abstract Grewia venusta (‘Ururu’) mucilage was applied in the preparation of fried bambara groundnut cake (‘Akara’) to study its physicochemical and sensory properties. Batches of akara containing 0-2% mucilage were prepared by deep-fat-frying. The physical properties, proximate composition and sensory attributes of the akara were studied. The weight, volume and dimensions of the akara balls increased due to mucilage addition. The air spaces in the akara crumbs increased in number (56-295) with increasing level of mucilage. The akara crumbs became progressively spongy and their texture and flavour received higher scores than the control. The akara with 0% and 0.5% mucilage had the most attractive colour as shown by the panelists’ scores (4.8 and 4.4, respectively). The scores for colour of akara with 1.0% and 1.5% mucilage were not different significantly. The moisture, fibre, fat and ash contents of theakara increased while protein and carbohydrate decreased with increasing mucilage addition. The results suggested that apart from protein and colour, the quality of bambara groundnut akara improved upon addition of mucilage. The preparation of akara from bambara groundnuts with added Grewia venusta mucilage would help to diversify the utilization of the nuts as well as promote the use of a lesser known mucilage in food. Keywords: Grewiavenusta, mucilage, ‘akara’, physicochemical, sensory properties. INTRODUCTION ‘Akara’ is a traditional African food prepared by deep-fat- frying cow pea paste flavoured with onions, pepper and salt (Lete, 2013). The food is popular among both rural and city dwellers in Nigeria and it is either eaten along with ‘akamu’ (a custard-like gruel prepared from maize, sorghum or millet) or whole meal millet gruel. Traditionally, cow pea paste is prepared by soaking, wet- dehulling and wet-milling of cow pea seeds. Whipping of thepaste is an important aspect of akara preparation as it helps to incorporate air to facilitate foam formation (Ngoddyet al., 1986). Foam formation gives rise to increased number of air spaces in the paste, which results in porous and spongy akara crumb that is cherished by consumers.Apart from cow peas, bambara groundnuts (BGN) have been used as an ingredient in the preparation of akara among rural populations in Nigeria, particularly in the north central states where the nuts are cultivated. Bambara groundnut is a leguminous crop grown in tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world (Chinedu and Nwinyi, 2012). It is grown extensively in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa (Okpuzoet al, 2010). Although the nuts are produced in large quantities (100,000 metric tonnes {MT} in Nigeria; 30,000 MT in Niger and 20,000 MT in Ghana) (Asiedu, 1989) it is not popular and its use is limited mainly to the preparation of steamed cake (‘Okpa’). BGN has potential use in addressing the protein-energy malnutrition problem in developing countries because it is a proteinous food with a high amount of carbohydrates (Mazahibet al., 2013; Chinedu, and Nyinyi, 2012). The growing awareness of malnutrition to be a major health problem in developing countries has resulted in various efforts that are made to introduce new