Sensory Attributes of Soups Prepared with Wet, Micro-Waved and Dried ‘Ogiri’ Produced from Ricinus communis

摘要

Background and Objective: ‘Ogiri’ is among the condiments that have played a major role in the soups and sauces in Eastern Nigeria; serving not only as a nutritious non-meat protein substitute but also as condiment and flavoring agent in soups. This study aimed to assess the proximate composition , microbiological and sensory quality of soups prepared with the wet, micro-waved and dried samples. Materials and Methods: ‘Ogiri’ samples were analyzed for moisture, ash, fat, protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate. Proximate composition of the Ogiri samples were determined using the AOAC method. Results: The proximate result revealed the presence of moisture (40.38, 1.20, 4.10%), carbohydrate (0.89, 1.47, 1.21%), protein (14.43, 16.62, 13.12%), ash (3.30, 4.40, 2.00%), lipid (40.20, 70.60, 64.95%) and fiber (1.69, 5.73, 14.62%) for the wet, micro-waved and 100°C dried samples respectively. The isolated bacteria on the basis of cultural morphology, physiological and biochemical characteristics were identified as: Bacillus spp. (32.0%), Staphylococcus spp. (10.0%), Micrococcus spp. (11.0%), Pseudomonas spp. (26.0%), Proteus spp. (16.0%) and Lactobacillus spp. (5.0%). The sensory evaluation of soups prepared with the ‘ogiri’ samples showed that the micro-waved sample had the highest overall acceptability, followed by the oven-dried sample and lastly the wet samples. Conclusion: Soup prepared with the micro-waved sample was the most preferred and had very low microbial counts.