Participatory consumer-centered cowpea product and process reengineering (WP2)

WP2 aims at studying and modelling the physicochemical and nutritional behaviour of cowpea seed during some processing methods that can be easily transferred to craft companies and small enterprises (soaking, cooking, drying,…) so as to better control its nutritional and organoleptic value. An experimental plan defining the domains of variation of some processing variables of interest will be built and some high-potential (both in terms of nutritional and technological values) cowpea varieties will be selected and tested in close collaboration with the actors of cowpea value chain.

Some nutritional compounds kinetics such as folates (vitamin B9), starch (to control the degree of cooking) but also alpha-galactosides that are antinutritional factors will be monitored during processing. A cowpea seed soaking-cooking process simulator will be developed and adjusted to experimental data. This mathematical model will allow to identify a shortlist of optimal processing pathways with a short preparation time and a high nutritional value. In parallel, some consumer acceptability tests will be carried out on product prototypes.