Nutritional quality of Kenyan pastoral deep-fried goat meat

Pastoralist communities traditionally deep-fry meat for a unique taste and exceptional shelf-stability. These meat products serve as nutrient-dense snacks with high satiety, making them very suitable for the mobile lifestyle of pastoralists. A study on “Processing variations, nutritional and sensory quality of ethnic deep-fried meats from Kenyan pastoral communities” by Josphat Njenga Gichure et al (published 2020 in the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition & Development 20(4): 16046–16062) looked into variations in processing deep-fried goat meats by pastoralists in Turkana, Kajiado and Marsabit Counties in Kenya. The methods included focus-group discussions, laboratory analysis of meat samples and panels for sensory assessment. Variations in the deep-frying process were the size of meat chunks, solar drying techniques before deep-frying and choice of deep-frying media. Shelf stability was achieved by oil-encapsulation of the chunks, fumigation of the traditional packaging containers with smoke, and the use of spices. These variations led to differences in nutritional and sensory characteristics of the deep-fried products.

Posted on 23 July 2020 in Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition