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STUDENT
CONTRIBUTION
Cowpea:
the ‘poor man's meat' is now food for all
Asiamah K
Cowpea
(Vigna unguiculata) is indigenous to Africa
and is a popular legume in West Africa, contributing
immensely to the diets of the under-privileged. It is of major importance
to the livelihoods of millions of relatively poor people in less
developed countries of the tropics. Although it represents an economical
source of protein, calories and B-vitamins, its consumption in the
past two decades implied poverty and was associated with the low-income
groups to the extent that it was regarded as the ‘poor man's meat'.
Improvement in storage and processing techniques, however, has changed
this perception. Cowpea is now accepted, as food in the homes of
the rich, the informed, the salaried worker and all those who can
afford it. In short the ‘poor man's meat' is now food for all.
The
major factor that militated against increased consumption of cowpea
was consumer aversion to infested cowpeas, since acceptability of
any food hinges critically on the aesthetics, irrespective of how
nutritious the food product is perceived to be. Infested cowpeas
do not look appealing when prepared as food, simply because they
contain broken seeds that affect the quality of the food product
being prepared. Again, whole insects and their parts may be spotted
in the food, which may cause some people to lose appetite. Apart
from that, the wholesomeness of the food is also brought into question
because of possible contamination from weevils, rodents and moulds.
Insect infestation of cowpeas has been addressed by improved storage
techniques. Hitherto, cowpeas were stored in improvised vessels
and crude utensils such as kerosene tins, jute bags, plastic bags,
bottles, calabash, clay pots, racks-atop-fire place and metal drums.
Effective storage of cowpea under airtight conditions in gasketed
jerry cans is being used. Additionally, improved varieties that
are resistant to insect infestation have also been developed.
For instance in Ghana, as a result of storage and processing
improvement studies conducted by the USAID-Sponsored Bean-Cowpea
Collaborative Research Support Project (CRSP) at the Department
of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, cowpeas are
now consumed in many different forms, the major form of which is
boiled cowpeas in palm/vegetable oil combined with fried ripe plantain,
which is popularly known as ‘red red'. Thus, boiled cowpeas are
now served with no infestation, no wonder ‘red red' is now acceptable
and consumed by all as a delicacy especially in Ghana
and Nigeria.
The
high energy and time required for the culinary preparation of cowpea-based
foods was yet another deterring factor. In the past, many households
resorted to manual grindstone and/or pestle and mortar for processing
cowpeas. People have moved away from this laborious traditional
method to using custom-operated engine-driven plate mills in both
rural and urban areas. This means a transformation in the cowpea
milling technology, shifting from manual to machine milling. Dehulling
the cowpea prior to milling has also enhanced cowpea flour quality,
thus paving the way for convenience and flexibility of using cowpea
flour. Instead of preparing ‘akara' and ‘moin moin' from scratch
using fresh cowpeas, the cowpea flour may be used to significantly
cut down on processing time. Again, cowpea flour is now being used
for fortification of many different traditional food products including
gari, fermented corn dough as well as for the preparation of weaning
foods in combination with maize.
The rising awareness of the nutritional quality of cowpeas and other legumes in both infant and adult diets, coupled with the proper storage practices, has increased acceptance such that the cost of it is no longer high relative to other foods. Additionally, more research work is being carried out to increase the product base of cowpea. Infant beverages are being developed as a result of the unique nutritional properties of cowpea. Extraction of cowpea starch from cowpea for the production of noodles is another potential area of research that needs much investigation. The acceptance of cowpea as food for all did not come by out of the blues, but through the deliberate efforts of governments and research organizations, prominent among them is the Bean-Cowpea CRSP Project in Ghana. Hence, the transformation of cowpeas from being a ‘poor man's meat' to food for all was due to proper storage regimes, development of insect resistant varieties, improved processing techniques and the increased awareness of the nutritional contribution that cowpeas could render to both infants and adults to improve their overall nutrient intake.
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