Effects of Cultivar and Drying Method on Color,Pasting and Sensory Attributes of Instant Yam (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Dioscorea rotundata</Emphasis>) Flours

Effect of cultivar (Efuru and Abuja) and drying method (cabinet and foam mat) on color, pasting, and sensory properties of instant pounded yam flours was investigated. Color (L*, a*, b*) values of fresh and dried flour samples were measured, and deltachroma (∆C), color difference (∆E), and hue angle were calculated. Pasting properties of flour and sensory attributes of fresh and reconstituted flour were determined. Foam density of yam pastes decreased from 0.97 g/cm³ to between 0.362–0.538 and 0.308–507 g/cm³ for cultivars Abuja and Efuru, respectively. Foam-mat dried flour showed higher L*, ΔC, ΔE, and hue angle but lower a* and b* values. Peak viscosities of cabinet and foam-mat dried Abuja and Efuru were 217, 304, 377.42, and 316.50 RVU, respectively. Sensory attributes of reconstituted foam-mat dried Abuja and fresh pounded yam were not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, fresh pounded yam (8.5–8.9) and reconstituted foam-mat dried flour (7.4–8.5) samples were significantly different (p > 0.05) from the cabinet-dried (6.9–7.9) and commercial samples (7.2–7.8).