Effect of Parboiling and Drying Pretreatment on the Cooking Time and Quality Attributes of Bambara Groundnut

Bambara groundnut (BGN) was separately parboiled for 45 and 90 min, then, sun‐, oven‐, or freeze‐dried. Untreated BGN served as the control. Cooking, physical, chemical, and sensory characteristics were investigated to assess quality. All parboiled‐dried samples cooked significantly (p ≤ .05) faster (43%–86%) than the control. Freeze‐dried samples showed significantly (p ≤ .05) higher L* values than their sun‐ and oven‐dried counterparts, irrespective of parboiling time. Sphericity and aspect ratio significantly (p ≤ .05) reduced with all the drying methods, though insignificantly when parboiling was extended from 45 to 90 min. Pretreated BGN had higher protein but lower antinutrient contents. Mineral leaching was minimal at 45 min parboiling. Parboiled‐dried BGN cooked samples were generally accepted by the panelists as demonstrated by scores of >6 on a 1–9 Hedonic scale. Combined parboiling and (sun‐ or oven‐) drying presents a practicable strategy for BGN farmers/processors to offer an easy‐to‐cook product, potentially storable for later food preparation by consumers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The study provides a useful strategy to farmers/food industries in their quest to meet the increasing demand of consumers for more convenience foods as opposed to the drudgery associated with the long cooking time of Bambara groundnut. Combined parboiling and drying operations produced Bambara groundnut seeds which cooked 43%–86% faster, and had storable potential for later food preparation. The results from the study may enhance the research efforts in recent times aimed at further promoting the utilization of the crop for better food and nutrition security, particularly in regions where its cultivation is favored.