Development of Organic soup from vegetable grown in Rwanda

Desire Uwayo and Dominique Savio Nkunda

Department of Food Science, Kigali Institute of Science and technology (KIST), Rwanda.
ABSTRACT
Vegetables are either whole plants or
only some parts of plants served with
the main meal. The edible parts can be
stems, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and
or grains. Vegetables normally contain
between 90-96% moisture when they
are fresh. The added value of vegetable
was obtained by drying the mix
ingredients (carrots, celery, garlic, leek,
onion, pepper, potatoes, and spinach).
Upon drying, vegetables were blended
and mixed to develop a flavored soup
which was packaged in plastic bags and
labeled. Laboratory analysis and sensory
evaluation were carried out and the soup
was found to contain an average 4.98%
moisture content, 95.02% total solid
matter, 13.06 crude proteins, 3.17%
lipids, 8.44% ash and minerals, 1.66%
vitamin C and 68.69% total soluble
sugars. The mean score of 4.2 out of 5.0
obtained for overall acceptability of the
soup showed that it was acceptable and
judged to be satisfactory.

1.INTRODUCTION
Vegetables have health benefits to the
human body as they have been
associated with prevention of cancer,
cardiovascular diseases and
constipation. Research after research
revealed that people who do not or
consume very little vegetable in their
diet are at increased risk of cancers
(Terry and others, 2001).Some
vegetables such as salad are eaten as
raw while others are cooked before

consumption. In addition, Rwanda as

one of the tropical countries experiences
good climatic conditions and has high
production of crops, among which fruits
and vegetables occupy a non-negligible
place (Austin, 2006). However, an
important part of this production of
vegetable is lost annually due to poor
handling methods. As a result, the prices
of these commodities become too high
during the scarcitys periods. Keeping in
mind that water is critical factor of the
high perishability of the vegetables, the
convenient way of processing them may
be drying. Mixture of vegetables
including spices that are dried yield a
flavored soup that can be preserved
longer and exported to generate foreign
exchange.
2. OBJECTIVES:

To formulate a flavored soup

from dried vegetables grown in
Rwanda

potatoes(11.5%), spinach (11.5%), and

tomatoes(30.5%).

4.98% moisture content

Receive ingredients

95.02% total solid matter

Weighing
Cleaning / washing

13.06% crude protein

Peeling and size reduction

3.17% lipids

Vegetable blanching (1min)

8.44% ash & minerals

Drying in hybrid dryer (60oC)

4.2. Results- Sensory analysis

Score (%) given by different sensory
panelists

Blending / Mixing
Packaging and labeling
Table1. DRYING EFFECT
Ingredients

To carry out sensory evaluation

of the formulated food

Initial
W(kg)

Final
W(kg)

Dry
Time
(hrs)

3.80

0.36

Celery

1.00

0.08

Garlic

0.82

0.26

10

Leek

0.80

0.06

Onions

2.00

0.28

3.1. Product formulation

Pepper

0.96

0.17

Ingredients used:

Potatoes

1.88

0.50

Spinach

2.60

0.18

Tomatoes

6.00

0.48

12

To determine nutritional
composition of the developed
soup

3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Carrots (19%),Celery(6%), Garlic 4%),

leek(6%), onions (11.5%), pepper (2%),

1.66% vitamin C
68.69% total soluble sugars

Carrots

4.3. Consumer acceptability

4. 1. Results- Laboratory analysis

3.2.Flow process:

Sensory
attribute

Soup 1

Soup
2

Soup
3

Appearanc
e

96

93

94

Aroma

75

82

80

Color

92

90

92

Taste

95

95

89

Texture

87

85

87

Overall
acceptabili
ty

94

90

91

5.CONCLUSION
Drying is the efficient method of
processing and preserving vegetables. It
has been demonstrated drying can add
value to the produce as the flavored
soup was developed with excellent
sensory attributes and overall
acceptability by sensory panelists.
6. RECOMMENDATION
Huge investment should be made in
horticulture for adding value to the
vegetables.
7.REFERENCE
Austin JE associates, Inc.2006. Final
report on study on marketing,
postharvest and trade opportunities for
fruits and vegetables in Rwanda.
Terry P,Terry JB, Walk A.2001. Fruits
and vegetable consumption in
prevention of cancer. J Int Med,
250(4),280-290.