CBN-V Video Archives - S6-27
Farmgate Production of Mead from Honey Derived from Cassava Nectars

Ukpabi U.J. and R..Nlemchi

National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, PMB 7006, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria nrcri@infoweb.abs.net

        The need for utility diversity led to the assessment of honey derived from cassava floral nectars for the production of mead, an alcoholic beverage, under farmgate conditions in Nigeria. Apiculturists in southeastern Nigeria had earlier observed that the sweet honey produced by bees kept in cassava farms is sometimes under value because of its slight after-taste bitterness. The domesticated honey-bees, Apis mellifera, that produced the experimental honey were kept in hives and placed in the center of a 50 hectares cassava farm. Pre-process boiling for 20 min and non-boiling of the diluted experimental honey (18 water:10 honey v/v) with 1ppm SO2 followed by 21 days of fermentation were used to obtain two types of mead, boiled and un-boiled. Physico-chemical, sensory and microbiological evaluations were carried out on the samples. The resultant amber coloured meads had 12.76 % alcohol (ethanol) for the boiled mead and 15.00% for the un-boiled. The pH was 3.65 for both types of mead and were found to be palatable without after-taste bitterness and were safe for human consumption immediately after production. The mead obtained from the boiled treatment, however, preserved better than the un-boiled mead after seven weeks of storage at ambient room temperatures of between 22 and 29 C.

2007© Donald Danforth Plant Science Center All rights reserved.