Effect of pre-treatment on quality of cassava chips

This research was to look at cassava root as an alternative raw material for snack chip production. However cassava chips showed higher hardness compared to potato chips. The aim was to study the effect of pre-treatment on the physical chemical and sensorial characteristics of cassava chips. Fresh cassava slices (1 mm thickness) were soaked in sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) solution at different concentrations (un-soaked 0 1 and 2% w/w) for 5 min. Then cassava slices were fried in palm oil at 160ºC for 4 min and were seasoned with paprika powder before being baked at 180ºC for 10 min. The chemical physical and sensorial qualities were investigated. The results revealed that the bulk density of cassava chips decreased significantly from 0.496 to 0.401 g/cm3 when fresh cassava slices were soaked in 2% NaHCO3. The breaking force of cassava chips also decreased from 558.97 to 231.50 g whereas fat content increased from 22.85 to 30.69% when soaked in 2% NaHCO3. Increasing the concentration of NaHCO3 decreased the lightness (L*) of cassava chips. Pre-treatment did not have a significant effect on the sensory scores of cassava chips.