Abstract

The study investigated the influence of malting, solid-state fermentation of “China rice” (GAWAL R1), and soybean supplementation on the proximate, mineral, and amino acid composition as well as acceptability of the complementary foods. Paddy was malted, milled, and a portion of the flour was fermented. Similarly, soybean was processed into flour. A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design was used, which comprises the non-complemented rice flours and the complemented rice flours with the processed soybean (4 samples each). Proximate, mineral, and amino acid composition as well as sensory qualities of the samples were determined. The moisture, protein, ash, fibre, and carbohydrate contents of the complementary foods varied significantly (p < 0.05). The addition of soybean appreciably (p < 0.05) enhanced the mineral content of the complementary food. Germination of rice did not affect the taste of the complementary foods, but fermentation, the combination of fermentation and malting, did significantly (p < 0.05). A combination of germination and solid-state fermentation did not affect leucine, lysine, isoleucine, valine, tryptophan, methionine + cysteine, threonine, histidine, but reduced phenylalanine + tyrosine. However, most of the essential amino acids were within recommended levels.