Tigernut Milk: A Nutritious but Under Utilized Food Ingredient

Abstract

One of the under-utilized food ingredients in Africa and other developing economies is the Tigernut milk. In this study, the nutritional, physicochemical and sensory properties of tigernut milk were evaluated by comparing them with those of a popular animal milk product in Nigeria, the peak milk, using standard methods. The results showed that all the nutrient factors were significantly (PË‚0.05) different. There was a higher amount of moisture (10.95%) and crude protein (3.65%) in PM than TM. Conversely, there were higher amounts of crude fibre (93.33%) crude fat (61.96%), total ash (16.67%), and carbohydrates (77.59%) in TM than PM. With the exception of pH and total titrable acidity, the other physicochemical properties varied significantly (PË‚0.05). PM contained 11.76% 13.58% more total titrable acidity and total solids respectively than TM while TM had 65.39% more energy value than PM. Both milk samples showed mild acidic pH values of 6.63±0.03 and 6.64±0.13 for PM and TM, respectively. This suggests high susceptibility of both milk samples to microbial spoilage at ambient temperatures, hence, the need to stabilize them. Sensory evaluation showed that PM was 8.40%, 17.81%, 16.76%, and 6.06% more preferred to TM while the aroma of TM was 38.79% adjudged better than that of PM. Ultimately, all the sensory properties were significantly (PË‚0.05) different except colour and general acceptability.