Microbial, chemical and sensory evaluation of pigeon pea condiment from wild and controlled fermentation

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is an important grain legume crop predominantly grown in India. Changes in the microbial and chemical qualities of pigeon pea during wild (96 h) and controlled (72 h) fermentations were investigated. Sensory properties of the resulting condiments were also evaluated. Organisms associated with 96 h wild fermentation of pigeon pea included Bacillus species, Lactobacillus species, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Escherichia faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. pH decreased with wild (from 7.5 to 5.0) and controlled (from 7.4 to 6.0) fermentations. There was a steady decrease in crude fibre, crude fat and carbohydrate but an increase in ash, moisture and crude protein with increasing length of fermentation periods. Phytate, oxalate, tannins, and trypsin inhibitory activity of fermented condiment decreased with increasing fermentation period. Sensory evaluation showed that pigeon pea produced from controlled fermentation had higher scores in colour and texture compared with commercial condiment (iru). This study has revealed the feasibility of producing pigeon pea condiment using wild and controlled fermentation, and this presents a veritable strategy to increase the utilization of the crop.