ABSTRACT

 The blends of spices produced from indigenous raw materials (scent leaf and ulazi) at 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20, 100:0 proportions were used in the processing of cat fi!sh. The blended samples were evaluated for sensory, proximate, antinutritional and mineral properties. All the blends had over 50% score rating for taste, texture, appearance and acceptability. The proportion, 60:40 of the sample had the highest rating for acceptability. The results of the proximate analysis showed a high percentage of moisture ranging from (10.22 to 11 .27), (11 .71 to 13.61 for ash ,(8 .26 to 11 .1 8) for crude fibre, (7.50 to 12.47) for ether extract, (20.57 to 22.95) for protein and (22.30 to 39.36) for carbohydrate content in the samples. The phytochemical compositions of the samples were found to be moderately low. The proportion 100:0 of the sample had the highest phytochemical content while the proportion 20:80 of the sample had the least. The mineral analysis revealed that the samples had high mineral content .The increase in the mineral content was a linear function of the increase in the scent leaf concentration. The values for calcium were found to be the highest in the blended samples (scent leaf and utazi). The results obtained showed that a combination of scent leaf and utazi cannot only he used in the processing of fish but in food processing generally as it adds to the nutrients, aroma and colour of processed food.