Effect of Groundnut Paste on the Quality of Maize Based Masa

J.A. Ayo, H. Agu, V.A. Ayo and O.F. Famoriyo

The maize grains were dehulled, washed, dried and milled and sieved (flour and grit). The groundnut grain were sorted, toasted, dehulled and milled into paste. The paste was substituted (0- 50%) into the maize flour, cooked and cooled down (32^oC). The resulting batter was inoculated with baker's yeast (0.5%) and allowed to ferment (12hrs), diluted with trona, salted, stirred vigorously to incorporate air, sized, fried to produce masa. The effects of the substituted groundnut paste on physical (thickness, volume, spread ratio), chemical (fat, moisture, ash, protein, carbohydrate) and sensory(colour, texture, taste, odour) qualities on the maize based masa were determined. The thickness, loaf volume, specific loaf volume or loaf index and the spread ratio increased from 3.40 to 3.93 cm, 100 to 148cm³, 1.16 to 1.78 and 3.17 to 3.98, respectively, while the weight decreased from 86.04 to 83.3g with increase in percentage groundnut paste. The protein, fat, carbohydrate and calorie value of the groundnut-maize enriched masa increased from 9.56 to 13.59%, 9.48 to 13.23% and 64.62 to 66.98% and 382.04 to 441.53 cal/g, respectively while the ash and the moisture content decreased from 2.1 to 0.8% and 14.24 to 5.54% respectively with increase in groundnut paste (0 - 50%).The average mean scores for the taste, texture and colour increased from 5.53 to 6.47, 5.22 to 6.87 and 5.15 to 6.80, respectively, with increase in the groundnut paste from 0 to 20% and decreased from thence to 6.33, 5.67 and 6.10 correspondingly with further increase of the groundnut paste to 50%.