Consumer testing of boiled cassava in rural and urban areas of Uganda. Understanding the drivers of trait preferences and the development of multi-user RTB product profiles, WP1, Step 4

Recent developments with the CGIAR have led cassava variety development to increasingly focus on assessing clones based on end-user acceptance of the crop and of finished product(s). Consumer testing of boiled cassava was carried out in rural areas (Luweero and Apac) and urban areas (Kampala) of Uganda. Consumers were invited to test boiled products from several cassava varieties and give their opinion about the products using various methods including overall liking (9-point hedonic scale), Just-About-Right (JAR) and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) tests. Using these methods, consumers indicated their preferred sensory attributes for boiled cassava. Results showed that consumers preferred local varieties Bao, Bwanjule and Nabwangu, which possessed good quality attributes namely; 'mealiness', 'sweetness', 'softness', 'nice aroma', 'whiteness', 'firmness' and 'sticky'. Newly improved varieties and Alanyo Deri- a local variety - were least preferred because boiled cassava product resulting had poor qualities such as; 'dry', 'bitterness', 'watery', 'hard', 'tastelessness', 'yellow', 'fibrous' and 'odourless'. This information gathered in this activity will be key for WP2 to determine appropriate physicochemical evaluations to assess cassava clones' qualities.