Résumé
This report presents results of a consumer testing study whose aim was to understand the consumers' demand for quality characteristics of steamed matooke bananas in Uganda. The activity was conducted in rural and urban locations in two major bananas growing and consuming regions of Uganda, being Mbarara and Nakaseke districts. Four matooke varieties per site, with different quality characteristics, were processed into steamed matooke products and presented to a large number of consumers. In Mbarara district, two local varieties Nakitembe and Kibuzi, and two hybrids NARITA 2 and M30 were tested by 132 consumers. In Nakaseke, two local varieties Mpologoma and Nakitembe, and two hybrids NARITA 21 and M30 were tested by 124 consumers. The consumers evaluated the products using a hedonic test, a just-about-right (JAR) test, and a check-all-that-apply (CATA) test. The results showed that the consumers perceived differently the matooke products made from the four varieties. Consumers in Mbarara liked matooke made from the local varieties Kibuzi and Nakitembe, and gave a mean overall liking score of 7.6 ('like very much') and 7.3 ('like moderately'), respectively. Matooke made from hybrids NARITA 2 and M30 got a mean overall liking score of 4.7 ('neither like nor dislike') and 5.9 ('like slightly'), respectively. NARITA 2 was found “too light” in colour, “not soft enough” and “rough” in the mouth by 40.5%, 64.9% and 70.2% of consumers, respectively. In Nakaseke, the most liked matooke were from varieties Mpologoma and hybrid M30 with a mean overall liking score of 8.2 and 7.9 (both close to 8, 'like very much') respectively. The least liked were the matooke hybrid NARITA 21 with a mean overall liking score of 2.1('dislike very much'). Nakitembe, a local variety, got an overall liking score of 6.2 ('like slightly'). Consumers considered the matooke hybrid NARITA 21 as 'too dark' (88.3% of people), 'too soft' (40.3% of people) and 'too rough' (53.3% of people). Whatever the region, the high-quality characteristics associated to the most liked matooke samples were the followings: an attractive appearance “appealing” with a “deep yellow” colour, a “nice smell”, “does not harden quickly” and “moldable” in the hand, with a “good matooke taste” and a “mild sugary taste”, “soft”, “smooth”, with a “uniform/even texture” in the mouth, and “easy to digest”. The poor-quality characteristics associated to the least liked matooke samples were: “pale yellow”, “blackish”, “browish”, or a “mixed colour”, “no smell”, with a “flat taste”, “sap like taste”, “has particles/grainy texture”, “not compact”, “watery” “or hard”.