ABSTRACTHard‐to‐cook (HTC) defect was induced in cowpea seeds by storing at 37°C and 85 relative humidity (RH) for 6 wk. HTC and control (stored at 7°C, 60 RH) seeds were boiled for 45 and 90 min or ground to flour. Flour was cooked as paste or extruded (20 H2O, 150°C). Overall dietary quality was estimated as Feed Efficiency and Relative Response Ratio. Protein quality was determined as Nitrogen Efficiency and Relative Nutritive Value. Overall and protein nutritional quality were generally higher for control than for HTC cowpea diets. Processing affected control and HTC seeds differently. Boiling either control or HTC whole seeds improved both overall and protein quality compared to raw seeds, while extrusion substantially increased the quality of control seeds but reduced the quality of HTC seeds. Cooking as paste improved protein and overall quality of control seeds but not protein quality of HTC
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