Proximate Composition, Physical, Functional, and Sensory Properties of Gurasa Produced from Flours of Indigenous Wheat Cultivars, Pearl Millet and Cowpea

Abstract

The quality of the three local wheat varieties, pearl millet and cowpea composite based gurasa (a Nigerian traditional flat bread) were evaluated. A 3x4x2 factorial design comprising 3 wheat cultivars, 4 levels of pearl millet substitution and 2 levels of cowpea that yielded 24 experimental group in addition to a 100% commercial wheat flour sample were employed for gurasa production. The proximate composition, weight, volume, swelling power, solubility index, water absorption capacity and acceptability of the gurasa were determined using standard methods. Water absorption ranged from 50 to 55% and increased with addition of cowpea flour. Swelling power decreased with increase in the solubility of the flour. Gurasa supplemented with pearl millet and cowpea had the highest protein (14.58%), crude fats (4.93%) and energy (333.13kcal/100 g) which increased with the level of substitution. Weight and volume of the gurasa ranged from 128.33 to 153.33g and 186.67 to 386.67 cm3 respectively. Sensory evaluation showed that all the gurasa products were acceptable in terms of colour, taste, aroma and texture when compared with the control gurasa.  Gurasa produced from the blends of local wheat cultivars, millet and cowpea increased the protein content as well as lysine (essential amino acid) that can satisfy the dietary requirement of human, especially for local consumers.