The quality of boiled cassava roots: instrumental characterization and relationship with physicochemical properties and sensorial properties

The physicochemical properties of twenty promising new improved cassava cultivars (13 sweet and 7 bitter), harvested at maturity in Benin, were assessed. In parallel, instrumental measurements and sensorial tests were performed to assess boiled cassava quality. These properties and physicochemical properties were tentatively correlated. The colour score of boiled cassava tuber was closely correlated with ΔE measured on fresh pulp, while mealiness (or friability) could be assessed by resistance to penetration, measured on cooked tuber slices. Mealiness could also be predicted from starch functional properties (such as apparent viscosity after pasting), cyanide potential and the water content of fresh tubers. The cassava tubers had a narrow amylose content range (18.2%–22.6% starch basis). In addition, bitter cultivars appeared to be quite homogeneous with, in particular, high sugar and protein contents but low fibre contents. They also had original starch functional properties, with high solubility and low paste viscosity.