EFFECTS OF ADDITION OF DIFFERENT SPICES ON THE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF TIGER-NUT MILK (KUNUN-AYA) DURING STORAGE

Kunun-aya is a traditional fermented non-alcoholic tiger-nut beverage widely consumed in the Northern parts of Nigeria especially during dry season. Kunun-aya was prepared from tiger-nut, coconut, date and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, rosemary and black pepper were added separately. The samples were stored at 4°C for 5 days and the effects of added spices on physicochemical, microbial and sensory properties of the samples were evaluated. The results of the pH (4.25–5.95) and titratable acidity (2.95–12.17) showed that all the samples were acidic throughout the storage period. Brix values ranged from 0.05–2.85% during the storage period. The moisture, protein, ash, fat, fibre and carbohydrate contents of kunun-aya ranged from 85.35–95.22%, 1.53–4.06%, 0.14–0.64%, 0.31–0.85%, 0.23–1.84% and 0.69–10.85%, respectively prior to storage and ranged from 79.50–98.24%, 0.27–2.56%, 0.04–2.25%, 0.24–0.42%, 0.09–3.74% and 1.05–17.34%, respectively after storage. The bacterial count of kunun-aya ranged from (1.1–5.4, 2.0–6.9, 3.6–9.8)×104 CFU/ml and fungal count from (1.0–6.4, 1.3–7.4, 5.2–9.5)×104 CFU/ml on days 1, 3 and 5, respectively. The phytochemical screening of the spices revealed that ginger contained alkaloid, glycoside, saponin, steroid, flavonoid and terpenoid but not tannin while other spices contained one or two of these phytochemicals. There was significant difference between the sensory attributes of the treated kunun-aya and the control samples with the control sample having the highest score ratings. Addition of spices had varying effects on the quality attributes of kunun-aya and could extend its shelf life for 5 days under refrigerated conditions.