Cassava is a major root crop and an important staple food for over 500 million people in the developing world1. It is one of the local foods preferred in Indonesian society. It is a source of carbohydrates. Minerals that are very important for the body are also found in cassava, including zinc, magnesium, copper and iron. The amount of potassium in cassava is high enough to satisfy the nutritional needs of humans2.
Cassava has great potential as a local food that can be developed and processed into various food products that have economic and commercial value. One example that has been developed is the processing of cassava into high-quality cassava flour (HQCF). It is defined as unfermented, white, smooth and odorless cassava flour. In addition to its ability to stay fresh for long periods of time, cassava flour also has high economic value.
Researchers conducted a new study in order to determine the chemical characteristics of high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) from four local varieties, namely: jame-jame cassava, yellow cassava, digol cassava and butter cassava3. The observation parameters were the chemical characteristics of the HQCF samples, including the moisture content, crude protein content, crude fat content, carbohydrate content and starch content.
The lowest moisture content was observed in the jame-jame HQCF then followed by yellow HQCF. The highest moisture content was in digol HQCF. The moisture content of HQCF from all varieties observed was in accordance with the moisture content that is required for cassava flour by the National Standard of Indonesia.
The highest protein content obtained was from butter HQCF, followed by jame-jame HQCF and yellow HQCF and the lowest protein content was found in digol HQCF. The average value of the highest carbohydrate content was obtained in digol HQCF followed by jame-jame HQCF and yellow HQCF (84.2%). The lowest carbohydrate content was obtained from butter HQCF.
Different varieties of raw materials that were used in HQCF showed different properties. Thus, production of HQCF on an industrial scale should consider the use of the same source of raw materials. The research was limited only to the functional chemical nature of cassava flour, so further research is required to look at the physical-chemical properties of starches. The application of cassava flour in dough-making is highly dependent on the physical-chemical properties of starch.
Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the different varieties of cassava influence the chemical characteristics of the HQCF produced. Thus, before making HQCF, the cassava variety that will be used should be considered carefully because the inconsistency of varieties may cause differences in the characteristics of the processed products.
Keywords:
Cassava flour, starch, cyanogenic glycosides, jame-jame cassava, yellow cassava, digol cassava, butter cassava, chemical characteristics, processed products, raw materials, dough-making, National Standard of Indonesia.
References:
- Falade, K.O. and J.O. Akingbala, 2010. Utilization of cassava for food. Food Rev. Int., 27: 51-83
- Han, Y., R. Gomez-Vasquez, K. Reilly, H. Li, J. Tohme, R.M. Cooper and J.R. Beeching, 2001. Hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins expressed during stress responses in cassava. Euphytica, 120: 59-70.
- Samad, S., Rasulu, H., Hasbullah and Hasan, S., 2018. Chemical Properties of High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) from Several Varieties of Cassava. Pak. J. Nutr., 17: 615-621.
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