Valorization of Tiger Nuts (Cyperus esculentus) Sourced from Cameroon in Yoghurt Production

Tiger nuts are one of the healthy sources to substitute for many consumer products such as cow milk and gluten. This study aimed to enhance the use of tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus) as main raw material in the production of yoghurt. Phytochemical analyses were carried out and sensory parameters were evaluated. 1 kg of tiger nuts followed chronological steps to produce 2 liters of milk. These steps were: sorting and weighing, soaking, grinding using a blender, filtration through a polyethylene filter, pasteurization, packaging and filling at hot in polyethylene bottles then rapid cooling. The resulting milk went through a process to produce 2 liters of tiger nuts yoghurt. This process consisted of the following steps: pasteurization, cooling, inoculation, mixing and homogenization using a spatula, incubation 6 hours, packaging and storage. Tiger nuts yoghurt was served chilled to untrained panelists for sensory analyses. The results of this study showed that 100 g of tiger nuts yoghurt contain 4.4±0.1 g protein, 1.9±0.06 g fat, 5.7±0.0 pH, 3.7±0.07 g sugar, 1.3±0.02 g fiber, 140±3.00 mg potassium, 126±2.00 mg calcium, 12.1±0.70 mg magnesium, 43±1.00 mg sodium, 0.40±0.01 mg zinc, 176±1.00 mg phosphorus, 0.001±0.1 mg vitamin A and 0.3±0.00 mg vitamin C. The overall acceptability of yogurt showed that 35% of panelists like the product very much while, 65% moderately like the product; this indicates that the product is highly valued. In order to improve the value addition of tiger nuts, the optimization of tiger nuts milk extraction can be done using a machine.