ABSTRACT

 Production and evaluation of quality of cocoyam-wheat chin-chin was checked. Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittfolium) flour blended with wheat flour in the ratios 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 WCF, and 100% cocoyam was used to prepare chin-chin samples, 100% wheat flour was used as the control sample. Functional properties of the cocoyam flour, wheat flour and the blends were assessed; proximate composition and sensory properties of the chin-chin produced from the wheat, cocoyam and the blends were investigated. Bulk density of the 100% cocoyarn flour, 100% wheat flour, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, and 80:20 of wheat and cocoyam flour blends were 0.77, 0.67, 0.72, 0.73, 0.74, and 0.75 g/cm3, respectively. Oil absorption capacity, water absorption capacity and gelation temperature ranged between 2.26 and 0.07g/g, 2.47 and 1.47, 72.67 and 66.67°C respectively, emulsion capacity, wettability and swelling index ranged from 44.12 to 37.05, 8.33 to 6.33 and 3.13 to 2.27, respectively. Proximate composition analysis revealed that chin-chin sample from 100% wheat and 70- 30% wheat-cocoyam Chin-chin had the highest carbohydrate. Protein and fat was highest on wheat at 4.67±0.10 and 13.65±0.07 respectively but the ash content is highest in cocoyam at 3.85±0.01 and least in wheat at 2.57±0.01 but increased in other samples as cocoyarn increases. Moisture content was highest in 50-50%WCC and lowest on 100%CC at 6.79±0.08 and 6.55±0.04. Sensory evaluation of the chin-chin samples revealed that the 60:40 WCC blend was the most acceptable sample. Cocoyam flour blend with wheat flour gave good functional properties in bulk density with values of 0.67 to 0.75g/cm3and in water absorption capacity of 2.47 to 1.47g/g. These show high level of digestibility of the chin-chin and the chin-chin samples produced from them have good sensory qualities which showed an enhancement in its utilization.