The Significance of Whole Grain Teff for Improving Nutrition: From Injera to Ready to Eat Porridge by Using Extrusion Cooking Technology

Authors

Helen T. Zewdie, University of Pretoria, South AfricaFollow
Mammo Muchie, University of Pretoria, South AfricaFollow

Abstract

Teff (EragrostisTef) is a fascinating grain, ancient, minute in size, packed with nutrition and used for centuries as the principal ingredient of the Ethiopian population diet. The micro- and macronutrients level of teff grainis apparently higher than that of barley, wheat and sorghum and the amino acid composition comparable to that of egg protein, except for its lower lysine content. In Ethiopia, it has been using as a staple food by making flat bread called Injera. Teff can be diversified from its current provision of Injera to other forms like instant porridge to improve the nutritional quality and it may play a significant role in food security and agriculture in Ethiopia. Compositing of teff with cowpea will help to lower the cost and will compensate the lower lysine content of teff. Extrusion technology, which combines several unit operations including mixing, high temperature short time (HTST) cooking, kneading, shearing and forming is a suitable technology with lower processing cost used to prepare highly nutritive ready to eat food products. In addition it can help to retain maximum available lysine, can either depolymerise the starch or form resistant starch which resulted in high and low glycemic index (GI) starchy food respectively by adjusting the extrusion conditions.

Recommended Citation

Zewdie, Helen T. and Muchie, Mammo (2014) "The Significance of Whole Grain Teff for Improving Nutrition: From Injera to Ready to Eat Porridge by Using Extrusion Cooking Technology," International Journal of African Development: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/ijad/vol2/iss1/5