Injera is an Ethiopian flat bread that is mostly made from tef flour. Injera making on an industrial scale holds a significant economic and social interest but requires a thorough study of how the process variables affect the product quality. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of mill type (hammer, disc, and blade) on injera sensory quality and starch digestibility. The application of software for the determination of injera quality descriptors and its comparison with visual human eye evaluation was also established. Injera made with disc mill flour had higher overall acceptability (6.6) than that obtained from hammer mill (4.2) and blade mill (4.1) flours. The injera made with blade mill flour obtained the lowest rapidly available glucose and rapidly digestible starch. The outcome of introducing software for the determinations of injera number of eyes was found effective; its difference with human eye determination was insignificant.

This study aimed to analyse the physicochemical, structural, functional, and thermal properties of flour from two indigenous Ethiopian Potato (Plectranthus edulis) varieties, Chanqua and Loffo, and to compare with wheat flour (WF). The study also investigated how oven and sun drying methods affected the physicochemical properties of the flours. The results demonstrated a significant distinction (p ≤ 0.05) between the flour samples and WF, attributable to variations in both the varieties and the drying methods except that no significant difference in pH was observed due to the varieties, and the fibre and ash content did not vary significantly with the drying methods. The moisture content (MC) of the flours ranged from 5.72 % in oven-dried Chanqua Ethiopian potato flour (OD-CEPF) to 7.53 % in sun-dried Loffo Ethiopian potato flour (SD-LEPF), both of which were lower compared to WF. The protein content varied from 4.47 % (SD-CEPF) to 5.93 % (OD-LEPF). FTIR tests revealed a significant impact on the structural changes, leading to variations in the location and intensity of infrared absorption peaks, particularly in sensitive regions. Whereas, the XRD patterns showed characteristic B-type diffraction, with a relative crystallinity (RC) of 31.97 % in CEPF and 30.53 % in LEPF having a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between them. LEPF had better flow properties than CEPF, with lower Hausner ratio (HR) (1.16 vs. 1.25), Carr's index (CI) (14.51 % vs. 20.26 %), and angle of repose (31.00° vs. 34.67°). It also showed significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) water absorption capacity (WAC), oil absorption capacity (OAC) and swelling power (SP) properties than CEPF. The study also indicated notable distinctions in the thermal and paring properties of flours. The oven drying method was found to be superior in enhancing the physicochemical properties, with LEPF showing better physicochemical, functional, structural, and thermal properties than CEPF.

Tef is currently being incorporated into a wide range of foodstuff due to its high nutritional profile. This study tries to fill the information gap on the effect of tef varieties on physico-chemical, nutritional and sensorial quality of gluten-free bread. Maize starch replacement at 50, 75 and 100 g/100 g level by tef flour from three Ethiopian varieties (DZ-Cr-37, DZ-Cr-387 and DZ-01-99) resulted in viable gluten-free breads with acceptable sensory properties, higher mineral content and lower glycemic response. Tef cultivar type and blending level significantly affected bread quality. The 50% and 75% substitution levels and the DZ-Cr-37 variety led to the highest bread volumes with the lowest firmness. Breads made with DZ-01-99 variety were darker and with more reddish crust and crumb hues than those made with the other varieties. Breads from 100% DZ-Cr-37 achieved the highest hedonic scores for color, odor, taste and texture. The Ca, Fe and Mg contents of the breads made with 100% tef were 13, 40 and 30 times, respectively, higher than those of the control bread (100% maize starch), indicating tef could be used as an excellent source of these important minerals. In addition, the rapidly digestible starch content decreased up to 28% in breads fortified with tef flour.

Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica (Lam.) Cogn) is a potentially important source of starch and an underutilized root and tuber crop indigenous to Ethiopia. In this study, the physicochemical, morphological, thermal, and rheological properties of native starches isolated from four cultivars of anchote tubers were studied and compared to potato and cassava starches, which were considered as references. The amylose content of anchote starches varied from 15.8–22.3%. The anchote cultivars showed different granule sizes, but all revealed a B-type crystalline structure, identical to potato starch. The phosphorus content of anchote starches ranged from 82–93 mg/100 g and was much higher than that of potato and cassava (60.3 and 5.8 mg/100 g, respectively). This characteristic could govern several functional properties of anchote starches, making them suitable for applications in different types of noodles, glucose syrups, and viscous products. The gelatinization temperature and enthalpy of anchote starches, which ranged from 60.97 °C to 69.33 °C and 16.87 to 18.38 J/g, respectively, were considerably different compared to potato and cassava starches. Significant variations were also observed among the pasting properties of starches from anchote cultivars. They showed a higher stability to heating and shearing, having higher TV (2046 to 2280 mPa·s) and lower BV (248 to 487 mPa·s) values, and a higher final viscosity (3409 to 3686 mPa·s) than potato and cassava, which are important characteristics in food processing and when high gel viscosity is required after cooling. Anchote starch gels exhibited rheological characteristics of true gels, showing much lower (tan δ)₁ values and significantly higher viscoelastic moduli than those found in cassava and potato gels. The present study revealed significant differences among the physicochemical properties of anchote starches, depending on the cultivar, and demonstrated their promising potential in food product development and other industrial applications.