Effect of different cooking treatments on the texture and starch pasting properties of four hybrid cooking bananas.

Abstract

Bananas are a highly perishable crop produced in tropical and subtropical countries, where they support the livelihood of many people mainly rural farmers in the Great Lake regions of East Africa; and part is grown for export markets. Although there is demand for the East African Highland Cooking Bananas (EAHB), there has been a challenge of pests and diseases among these varieties. This has attracted investments in breeding programs for improved varieties. The clones of improved varieties are given to farmers for evaluation of both agronomic and sensory traits. Those with the highest overall acceptability are recommended for national release as new varieties. It is noted that the process of selection and getting feedback is lengthy and costly, lasting over 10 years. There is also a possibility of rejecting 90% of generated hybrids. This research aimed to study the effect of different cooking treatments (boiling and steaming at 30, 60, and 90 minutes) on the texture and pasting properties of selected hybrid cooking bananas namely, M33, NARITA8, M9 & NARITA4. Two EAHB varieties (Kibuzi & Musakala) were used as a reference. Results showed that pulp hardness for all varieties ranged between 3.44 to 5.39 N; during steaming at 30, 60, and 90 minutes, hardness ranged from 2.83 to 3.70 N, 2.57 to 3.21 N and 1.82 to 2.90 N respectively; during boiling at 30, 60 and 90 minutes, hardness ranged from 2.29 to 5.33 N, 2.07 to 5.01 N, and 1.66 to 4.50 N respectively. There was no significant statistical difference (p≥0.05) between boiling and steaming treatments. Amylose and amylopectin content ranged between 10.73 to 12.44 and 87.58 to 89.27 g/100g respectively. This study observed that cooking lowers the hardness of cooking bananas regardless of the cooking method and starch content had a direct effect on pasting properties which significantly influence the hardness of the cooking banana varieties. This study recommended the M9 hybrid cooking banana variety since it retrogrades slower than all other hybrid and local cooking banana varieties, resulting in softer Matooke even after cooling.