Abstract
Background: Plantains are of major importance in the diet of many African populations. Plantains undergo many processing techniques at different ripening stages. Boiling is the most common method of processing plantains in Cameroonian households. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of cooking mode and ripening stage on the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of two Musa genotypes. Fruits from genotypes, Batard and CARBAP K74, at three ripening stages (unripe, semi-ripe and ripe) were studied. Physicochemical and nutritional analyses were performed on raw and cooked pulps with and without peel at different cooking times (from 10 to 60 min). Results: Significant variations (p < 0.05) in the parameters assessed during cooking at each ripening stage according to cooking time were observed. Plantain pulps boiled with peel exhibited high firmness (0.7–1.7 kgf), high soluble solids (7.4–22.4°Brix) and high dry matter content (29.8–38.3%) at all ripening stages. This cooking method yielded high protein (3.0–4.8%), lipid (0.2–1.8%), total starch (32–73%), and total carbohydrate (18–32%) contents. Boiling with or without peel had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the pH of Batard pulps nor the ash content of the pulps of both genotypes. Conclusion: Irrespective of the ripening stages used, during cooking by immersion in boiling water, cooking with peel best preserves the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of the analysed genotypes.