Specific qualities of pressed fermented cassava doughs used for attiéké production based on their geographical origin in Côte d’Ivoire

ABSTRACT Pressed fermented cassava dough is an intermediary product in attiéké production process. Its quality strongly influences that of the resulting final attiéké. With the goal to assess the typicity of attiéké from different areas, the specificity of the pressed fermented cassava doughs used for their production should be known. Thus, by analyzing the physicochemical properties and fermenting flora of samples, this study proposed to evaluate the specificity of pressed fermented cassava doughs from the five major producing areas of attiéké. Results revealed that doughs from Abidjan and Dabou presented same characteristics. Similar observation was noted for doughs from Jacqueville and Grand-Lahou being in the same group. And doughs from Yamoussoukro were isolated into a group with low counts of fermenting germs, high ash content, high pH, and starter rate. However, doughs from Abidjan and Dabou had higher counts of lactic bacteria and yeasts. They also had higher dietary fiber, starch, and moisture contents. Doughs from Jacqueville and Grand-Lahou were characterized by higher counts of aerobic mesophile germs, Enterobacteriaceae, Molds, and Bacillus. Total sugar and reducing sugar contents were high. Within each group of pressed fermented cassava dough, the physicochemical properties and microbiological compositions followed the same trends. These different types of pressed fermented cassava dough could result in attiéké of distinct qualities.