Effect of Malting Time and Drying Method on the Consumer Acceptability of Aliha (A Fermented Maize Drink)

Aliha, a traditional non-alcoholic malted beverage made mainly from maize, dark brown or cream in appearance and is popular with the Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana. This malted drink has come to lime light because product developers are trying so hard to promote its acceptability so that it can be a perfect substitute to the expensive canned and bottled malt sold in the Ghanaian market. The objectives of this research were to find the physicochemical properties and the organoleptic or sensory evaluation of Aliha in order to determine its acceptability by consumers. The physicochemical properties were determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (Shimadzu LC10/20 with Aminex HPX-87H column) with Refractive Index Detection. Simple descriptive statistics such mean, standard deviation and co-variance were employed to determine the acceptability of the product. It was found that glucose and the fructose levels were low: 7.52 and 2.72 respectively. The pH level of the most accepted Aliha sample was found to be 3.52 and the titratable acid (TTA) is 0.05. The vitamin C content of the most accepted Aliha sample was found to be 12.23mg per 100gm sample and ash content of Aliha was found to be 0.05%. Brix content of the most accepted Aliha sample contained 14.05. Four samples namely MFMDTO, MFMDFS, MFMDTS and MFMDFO were accepted with overall ratings of 6.66, 6.62, 6.54 and 6.06 respectively with MFMDTO (Malted Fermented Maize Drink Three days Oven) being the most accepted. Based on its acceptability, the product can be developed and sold in Ghanaian market as a perfect substitute for the expensive malt drinks in the market. Aliha can supply daily body requirement of Vitamin C for children and its wholesomeness is a plus for promotion.

Malting, Consumer, Acceptability, Aliha, Fermented Maize Drink

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