THE EFFECTS OF PARTICLE SIZE ON THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF CASSAVA FLOUR
ABSTRACT
The effects of particle size on the chemical composition and functional properties of cassava flour were investigated. Cassava tubers purchased from a farm in Ikorodu town, Lagos State, Nigeria were thoroughly washed, thinly sliced and dried in a cabinet dryer at 60OC. The resulting chips were milled into flour and sieved into different particle sizes (PS) using standard laboratory sieves of 150, 300 and 600 microns mesh. The unseived flour served as a standard. Proximate composition and functional properties of the flour samples were determined. Results obtained showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) in chemical composition and functional properties of the flour samples. Finest flour (PS 150µm) had the highest value for carbohydrate (89.72%) and the lowest values for carbohydrate (89.72%) and the lowest values for protein (1.58%), fat (0.46%), crude fibre (0.79%) and Ash (0.71%). Functional properties like swelling capacity, oil absorption, emulsion and foam capacities as well as dispersibility and water solubility index were highest in the finest flour with values of 6.49, 3.67, 47.37, 18%, 88 and 7.0 respectively.