Evaluation of Nutritional and Organoleptic Properties of Breakfast Cereals Formulated from Hungry Rice, Bambara Groundnut and Carrot Flour Blends

This study was carried out to evaluate the nutrient composition and sensory properties of breakfast cereals produced from hungry rice, Bambara groundnut and carrot composite flours. Hungry rice grains, Bambara groundnut seeds and carrot fruits were separately processed into flours. The malted Bambara groundnut and carrot flours were used at vary replacement levels (5 – 30%) with malted hungry rice flour to produce breakfast cereals with the breakfast cereal produced from 100% malted hungry rice flour as control. The proximate, mineral and vitamin compositions and sensory properties of the breakfast cereal products were determined using standard methods. The proximate composition showed that the moisture, crude protein, fat, ash and crude fibre contents of the samples increased significantly (p<0.05) with increased substitution of Bambara groundnut and carrot flours with slight decrease in carbohydrate and energy contents. The mineral composition of the samples were 76.35 to 94.78 mg/100g phosphorus, 113.34 to 126.02 mg/100g calcium, 2.44 to 3.77 mg/100g iron, 48.84 to 69.30 mg/100g magnesium, 1.42 to 2.04 mg/100g zinc and 36.10 to 67.30 mg/100g potassium. Result showed that the mineral content of the samples increased with increased substitution of Bambara groundnut and carrot flours. The vitamin composition of the breakfast cereals also showed that the retinol (vitamin A), thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, cyanocobalamin and ascorbic acid contents of the samples increased with increase in the addition of Bambara groundnut and carrot flours. The sensory properties of the samples showed that the porridge made from the breakfast cereal substituted with 30% Bambara groundnut and 20% carrot flours was the most acceptable by the judges and also differed significantly (p<0.05) from both the control (Breakfast cereal made with 100% malted hungry rice flour) and other test samples in colour, taste, texture and aroma. The study, therefore, showed that the supplementation of hungry rice flour with Bambara groundnut and carrot flours at the levels of 25 to 30 % could be used to produce nutritious and organoleptically acceptable breakfast cereal products.