Effect of Blending Ratio on Proximate Composition, Physico-Chemical Property, and Sensory Acceptability of Injera Produced from Red Tef (Eragrostis tef) and Cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Abstract

Injera is a staple food for Ethiopian communities. It is fermented, sour leavened pancake-like bread made from crops like teff (Eragrostis tef), wheat, barley, sorghum or maize or a combination of some of these cereals. Since a few years, injera has been made from teff and cassava blends in low income families and prepared for commercial purpose in southern Ethiopia. The crops which have been used for producing injera depend on availability on the farm or market, abundance of the crops and the prices. Injera produced from teff alone is believed to be superior, especially from white one by most of Ethiopian people due to its white color. The productivity of teff per hectare is lower than other cereals like wheat, barley, sorghum or maize and the increasing in domestic and foreign market demand related with ever inflating price due to its higher fiber content and free of gluten which is related with treatment of diabetes and assisting with blood sugar control and alternative grain for persons with gluten sensitivity problem. Due to increasing price of injera from white has shifted families with low income and those who are home based injera producers to using red teff which is the lowest in terms of price. This shift emerges the blending of red teff with crops which give white color for the injera that is considered as superior and has lower price. The objective of this study was to see the effect of blending ratio on physico-chemical, functional properties, sensory acceptability and proximate composition of injera produced from red teff and cassava flours. Data for physico-chemical and sensory evaluation were analyzed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA)to see the effects of the blending proportions. Data were analyzed by SAS (version 9.1) and chemical analyses were done using standard methods. Incorporating cassava on teff up to 30% significantly reduced the amount of all macro/nutrients except total carbohydrate. Except color, all the other sensory attributes were significantly (p<0.05) affected due to increased cassava flour on the composite injera flour. all the injera prepared from the cassava: teff up to 70:30 were above the average score (3.5) in all acceptability test. Increasing the amount of cassava on the teff: cassava composite flour improved the water absorption capacity. As conclusion, injera can be produced by mixing with up to 30% cassava were found acceptable by consumers.

Keywords: Injera, red teff, cassava, blending