Influence of maturity, smoking, and drying of fresh maize on sensory acceptability and nutritional content of the developed porridges.

This study investigated the potential of using the underutilized fresh maize in the preparation of porridge to contribute toward complementary feeding of children, and reductions in pre-harvest losses. Fresh maize was harvested at different stages of maturity, blanched, smoked, and sun dried before milling into flours that were blended with soy flours for preparation of test porridges. The test flours were analyzed using the Association of the Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods to determine their nutrient composition before preparation of the porridges. A trained consumer panel of 12 people, mothers and nursery school children tasted the porridges to rank acceptability and preference. Analysis of nutritional data showed that the test flours contained similar amounts of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates as the commonly used dried maize-soy flour blends. All the test porridges were generally accepted by the mothers and children due to the unique smoky and roasted aroma, brown color and the sweeter flavor even without the addition of sugar. Grainy texture and the presence of residues were the only unacceptable attributes in some of the test porridges. In conclusion, fresh maize-soy floor blends can be potentially used in complementary feeding of children at home and school as an alternative to other traditional maize flours. Optimization and fortification can help make the flours nutrient-dense and most appropriate for child feeding at scale.

Glycemic responses to maize flour stiff porridges prepared using local recipes in Malawi.

Glycemic index is defined as the incremental area under the blood glucose response curve of a 50 g carbohydrate portion of a test food expressed as a percent of the response to the same amount of carbohydrate from a standard food taken by the same subject. This study investigated glycemic index of maize stiff porridges consumed as staple food in Malawi and a large majority of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to identify areas for improvement in consumer diets. Stiff porridges were prepared using flour from whole maize, maize grits, and fermented maize grits. The porridges were served to 11 healthy volunteers for 3 weeks, with two serving sessions a week. Glucose was served as a reference food during weekly serving sessions. Results from descriptive analysis revealed that glycemic responses varied across subjects and porridge types. Porridge prepared from fermented maize grits had moderate glycemic index of 65.49 and was comparable in nutrient composition and sensory characteristics with the other test porridges. Glycemic indices of the porridges prepared from whole maize flour and grits were high at 94.06 and 109.64, respectively, attributed to the effect of traditional maize flour processing, preparation, and cooking methods used. The study also calculated glyaemic load of the porridges and drew recommendations to inform diet planning and modifications for healthy and diabetic individuals.