Injera Sensory Trial
In this experiment we used bulked grain samples (from our ARO field trail) from each line. These samples were passed through a 0.85mm sieve (U.S.A. standard test sieve, Fisher Scientific Company) and grain were further cleaned using the Selecta machine (Machinefabriek BV. Enkhizen- Holland). The samples were then ground to flour by Pashut (https://www.pashutli.co.il/) grinding services, which can grind relatively small grain samples (300gr in our case), followed by a final manual sieving through a kitchen sieve. Within a week from grinding, sensory evaluation was conducted and the flour was stored in sealed plastic bags at 4°C.
A total of 14 flour samples including from the 11 lines grown in the ARO field experiment with additional three samples bought in local markets (two white and one brown flour samples) were included in the test. The flow diagram of Injera preparation is described in Fig. 1.
We were kindly assisted by Mrs. and Mr. Leute in the Injera sensory trial preparation. All Injera flat bread were prepared similarly, using the same quantities, proportions and apparatus. The sensory evaluation was conducted 8 hours after baking the Injera. In this study, a panel of 14 Ethiopian judges (eight males and six females, 27-73 years old) was used to assess the degree of consumer acceptance/satisfaction on the Injera prepared from the different lines and controls. The judges were requested to taste the samples and rate various characteristics on a five-point scale (1- “Strongly dislike”/lowest, and 5- “Like very much”/highest). The traits that were evaluated were (Table 2): general appearance, color (color preference), odor (odor preference), odor intensity (odor strength), texture (softness), acidity (strength) and flavor (taste preference).