Abstract:
Cassava (Manihot esculanta Crantz) is nutritionally strategic famine reserve crop in areas of unreliable rainfall, poor soil or unfavourable climate. Presence of toxic compounds and high perishability has limited the consumption of cassava roots. An experiment was carried out to develop par-fried frozen slices of cassava in order to increase the consumption of cassava roots. Mature undamaged fresh cassava roots of cultivar ‘MU 51’ were cleaned, peeled and cut in to longitudinal cubes (0.8×0.8×10 cm). The cubes were blanched, partial fried and stored, deep freeze and stored in freezer after packing in 300 gauge LDPE pouches. The experiment revealed that extended hot water blanching for 10 minutes and initial freezing for 12 hours, increase the sensory qualities of frozen fries significantly. Moisture content, carbohydrate content, mineral content, fat content, protein content and crude fibre contents of the sample were 56.71±0.80%, 32.18±0.19%, 0.42±0.02%, 9.13±0.05%, 1.18±0.06% and 0.20±0.03% respectively. Cyanide content of the cassava frozen fries sample was 1.42±0.12 ppm. According to the microbiological and chemical testing results, cassava frozen fries were safe for consumption up to 3 months at freezer storage.
