NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF MAIZE BASED CARROT FORTIFIED SNACKS (MASA) WITH BAMBARA GROUNDNUT FLOUR BLEND

Masa is a traditional fermented snack widely consumed in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. It is typically prepared from cereals such as rice, millet, maize, or sorghum, which are fermented and fried to produce a soft, spongy, cake-like product. This study was carried out to investigate the Nutritional Evaluation and Sensory Properties of Maize based carrot fortified snacks (Masa) with Bambara ground nut flour blend. The maize grains and Bambara groundnut seeds were cleaned to remove dirt, stones, and damaged seeds. The grains were soaked in water at room temperature for 12 hours to soften the coat and initiate fermentation. The soaked grains were drained and dried in an oven at 60°C until moisture content was reduced. The dried maize and Bambara groundnut seeds were then toasted to reduce anti-nutritional factors after which they were separately milled into fine flours using a hammer mill. The flours were passed through a 250-micron sieve to obtain uniform particle sizes. The fruits of carrot were washed with water, cut into smaller pieces with the aid of a kitchen knife and oven dried to a constant weight at 50oC for 60 minutes. The dried fruits were then milled using a hammer mill and then packaged until needed for use. The results of proximate composition of are presented in Table 1. The findings indicated that Sample C was significantly (p