Influence of maturity, smoking, and drying of fresh maize on sensory acceptability and nutritional content of the developed porridges

This study investigated the potential of using the underutilized fresh maize in the preparation of porridge to contribute toward complementary feeding of children, and reductions in pre‐harvest losses. Fresh maize was harvested at different stages of maturity, blanched, smoked, and sun dried before milling into flours that were blended with soy flours for preparation of test porridges. The test flours were analyzed using the Association of the Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods to determine their nutrient composition before preparation of the porridges. A trained consumer panel of 12 people, mothers and nursery school children tasted the porridges to rank acceptability and preference. Analysis of nutritional data showed that the test flours contained similar amounts of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates as the commonly used dried maize–soy flour blends. All the test porridges were generally accepted by the mothers and children due to the unique smoky and roasted aroma, brown color and the sweeter flavor even without the addition of sugar. Grainy texture and the presence of residues were the only unacceptable attributes in some of the test porridges. In conclusion, fresh maize–soy floor blends can be potentially used in complementary feeding of children at home and school as an alternative to other traditional maize flours. Optimization and fortification can help make the flours nutrient‐dense and most appropriate for child feeding at scale.