Cocoyam tubers were subjected to two processing methods (fermentation and parboiling) and milled into flour. The samples were stored at 25°C, 35°C, and 45°C and analyzed at 2 weeks interval for 8 weeks for their nutritional, functional, and pasting properties. Data obtained were subjected to multiple analysis of variance. Storage period and its interactive effect with the processing methods had significant (P < 0.05) effects on all the nutritional composition of the flour except for the fat content. Water absorption index, wettability, and bulk density ranged from 1.94-2.72%, 25.30-135.50 sec, and 0.48-0.71 g/cm3, respectively. The entire pasting properties were significantly affected by the storage period while the interaction between storage temperature, processing methods, and storage period affected all the pasting properties except the peak time, peak, and breakdown viscosity. This study showed that processing methods storage periods and storage temperatures produced cocoyam flour with different quality characteristics.
Keywords: Cocoyam; fermentation; parboiling; pasting properties; storage.