ABSTRACT

 The toasting process from three (3) different women and the effect on the quality of the final garri was evaluated. Their total toasting time, total stirring time, total resting time and manual energy consumption was recorded and temperature taken at intervals. The final garri toasted by the three (3) women was compared for different quality attributes and the cassava mash and grits taken out of the pot before introduction of sifted cassava mash was analyzed. The chemical composition, pasting properties, functional properties, particle size distribution and sensory evaluation of the samples were determined. The data obtained were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the means were separated using Duncan's multiple. range test at p<0.05 significance. The samples recorded significant difference in the dry matter content. The garri toasted by Woman 3 had the highest dry matter content of 87.49% while the garri toasted by Woman 1 had the lowest dry matter content. Crude fiber content of the garri samples ranged from 0.67 to 0.72% with the garri toasted by Woman 3 having the highest crude fiber content. No significant difference was observed in the pH of the garri samples toasted by the three women. The Total titratable acidity of the garri samples ranged from 0.23 to 0.26% with the garri toasted by Woman 2 having the lowest crude fiber content. The hydrogen cyanide content of the garri samples ranged from 16.91 to 23.14 mg/kg with the garri toasted by Woman 1 having the lowest hydrogen cyanide content. There was also significant difference in the pasting properties, functional properties, particle size distribution and sensory evaluation of the samples with the garri toasted by woman 2 and woman 3 most preferred in terms of dry garri and Eba respectively. Therefore, the toasting process should be standardized or improved upon to minimize variations in the quality of the final garri available in the market.