Abstract

Sweet potato tubers were processed into non-alcoholic beverage flavored with citrus lime and ginger. Two varieties namely faara and sauti were used. pH, total sugars, total solids, brix, total titrable acidity, vitamins C and A were determined and sensory evaluation was conducted on the products to assess the acceptance preference. Values for pH ranged from 3.81 to 4.34 and that for degree brix was from 12.00 - 13.13°.The result of total titrable acidity (TTA) ranged between 0.45 - 1.6 with lime flavored having higher TTA than the ginger flavored. Total solids varied significantly and ranged from 12.57 - 13.78% with faara having higher values than Sauti. Vitamin C content was low because of heat treatment and hence the beverage was fortified with vitamin C. Vitamin A content was also low and ranged 3.28 to 10.11 µg/100 g (32. - 101.08 µgL^-1) with faara variety having higher vitamin A equivalent. The sensory results showed that significant differences (p < 0.05) existed between the different flavored samples and not between varieties. Generally the beverage had good consumer preference with the ginger flavored being the most preferred. The properties of the sweet potato non-alcoholic beverage are within the range of fruit juices; drinks and non-alcoholic beverages set by Ghana Standards Board thus can serve the purpose of already existing fruit drinks/beverages.

Key words: Sweet potato, non-alcoholic, beverage, faara, sauti.