Abstract:
African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) was traditionally fermented in basket with jute bags to
produce Sonru, a food condiment from Benin. Due to hygienic problems, a wooden box was
developed to replace basket with jute bags to process African locust bean into Sonru. Changes in
microbial, textural and sensory characteristics of the fermented cotyledons from wooden box
compared with that from basket with jute bags were investigated at different fermentation times
(0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours). Bacillus species were found as the main microorganism involved in
the fermentation of Sonru. The use of the box allowed increasing Bacillus growth during the
fermentation and improving texture (softness) of the product. Penetration forces were
significantly lower in samples fermented from the wooden box than that from the traditional
method (basket with jute bags). Concerning sensory quality attributes, samples fermented from
the wooden box at 12 hours showed higher scores of softness and aroma with when compared to
traditional Sonru. The wooden box was suitable to improve the fermentation process of African
locust bean to produce Sonru. |
