Blighia sapida arils yoghurt and its consumer acceptability tests

Ackee is an African, Caribbean and American tree plant belonging to a family (sapindaceae), widely cultivated throughout the tropical and subtropical regions for its edible fruit. The name ackee is derived from the original name Ankye which come from a Ghanaian Twi language and given the botanical name: Blighia Sapida, named after a Brit captain William Bligh in 1793 for taking the plants fruit from Jamaica to England. Ackee has a special place in the cultures of Caribbeans and Africans because of its food medicinal applications. The tree is mostly admired as an ornamental and shade tree in Ghana where it is mainly grown along the streets. The back, roots and leaves of the tree are applied in traditional medicine to treat various ailments. Ripped arils are edible and nutritious, tasting like milk or coconuts; it is mostly eaten freshin Africa, but may be dried, fried roasted or mixed into salts or soup and eaten in the Caribbean. The main purpose of the study was to explore for potential culinary use(s) of the edible akee arils by attempting its use in making yogurt. A two stage descriptive design was employed; first, a standard recipe was developed for akee arils yoghurt, followed by a descriptive sensory evaluation of the yoghurt using a consumer panel.