RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

• organoleptic evaluation of the finished products from the breeding program; the program also proposes to
identify among those varieties with a general or specific ability to give food quality fourra, tuwo, etc.
Two traditional methods for preparing fourra and tuwo in certain parts of the Niamey district are described.
Grain Quality Research in Mali
(Recherches sur les qualites organoleptiques au Mali)
M. Haidara, S. Coulibaly
Food Technologists, IER, B.P. 1820, Bamako, Mali
and
J.F. Scheuring
Principal Cereals Breeder (until May '86),ICRISAT, Mali Program, Bamako, Mali
Price differences of pearl millet in urban markets reflecting consumer demand for quality characteristics were
studied. Consumer preference tests were conducted in villages with ethnically different people to determine
quality traits appreciated by rural consumers. Rural and urban consumers generally agree about millet
quality. Ease of grain decortication was the single most important quality criterion for consumers. Large
round grains were generally preferred to small elongated grains because decortication is easier.
Additional market price surveys revealed a consumer preference for pearl millet over sorghum and maize.
Consumers especially complained about the difficulty of processing maize grain, and remarked on the relative
ease with which pearl millet can be decorticated.
In a progressive decortication study consumers could differentiate food products (td) prepared from grain
decorticated with less than 30% bran removal, compared to more completely decorticated grain. A comparative
study of large versus small grains confirmed the importance of grain size and roundness for ease of
decortication.
In studies with blends of millet and cowpea flour, consumers accepted blends containing up to 15% cowpea
in gruels offered to infants. Flour from decorticated millet grain can be stored up to 15 d. Flour kept longer
than this is unacceptable because of poor food keeping quality and flour beetle infestation.
Food Quality and Consumer Acceptance of Pearl Millet in India
(Qualites alimentaires et gouts des consommateurs en Inde)
V. Subramanian
Biochemist, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
and
R. Jambunathan
Principal Biochemist, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
Rural people are the major consumers of pearl millet in India. The grain types, processing methods, and food
habits vary considerably in different parts of India. Surveys on the traditional food preparation methods using
pearl millet were carried out in 171 villages of 7 Indian states. Despite low yields, local cultivars are generally
preferred by consumers due to their characteristic, unidentified, food quality attributes. The grain is initially
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