Textural Characteristics Of Seven Different Yams Dioscorea Species Grown And Consumed In Ghana

Texture is one of the most important indexes of quality in food products. It encompasses the structural and mechanical properties of a food and its sensory perception in the hand and in the mouth. This study was designed to evaluate the textural properties of the most cultivated and consumed yam Dioscorea varieties in Ghana in order to assess their potential alternative food and industrial processing applications. Matured yam varieties were obtained from the Roots and Tuber Conservatory Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute Bunso Ghana. Textural profile of the cooked yam cultivars was established using texture analyser TA-XT2i Stable Microsystem Godalming England with built-in Texture Expert Exceed software. Cluster observation and principal component analyses were used to characterize the varieties based on similarities and differences in properties. The study showed that signi2664257cant variations existed p0.05 in the textural properties of different yam varieties. Cooked samples of D. esculenta had the least hardness and chewiness 5.05 N and 0.22 respectively and will be suitable for food applications that require mashing while D. praehensalis had highest values for hardness and chewiness 49.9 N and 4.36. There were no significant differences p0.05 in adhesiveness of the yam varieties examined. D. rotundata D. alata and D. bulbifera varieties had tolerable textural properties appropriate for efficient industrial and food process applications. This information may be helpful in breeding and varietal improvement programmes for selecting varieties with similar textural properties for further study.