Volume 9, Issue 11, July - December, 2025

The 'draw effect' (viscosity) of okra by different cooking additives

Juliana Amoah^1♦, Jonathan Ntow¹, Prosper Kodwo Nwi¹, John Kwabena Otchere¹, Emmanuel Tetteh Sampeney², Geoffrey Saah Botchway²

¹University of Cape Coast, School of Physical Sciences, Department of Laboratory Technology, University Avenue Road, PMB, Cape Coast, Ghana.
²University of Cape Coast School of Biological Sciences, Department of Environmental Science, University Avenue Road, PMB, Cape Coast, Ghana.

^♦Corresponding Author
Juliana Amoah, University of Cape Coast, School of Physical Sciences, Department of Laboratory Technology, Cape Coast, Ghana

ABSTRACT

Okra, scientifically known as Abelmoschus esculentus L., is a member of the family Malvaceae, which also includes marshmallows. Research reveals that okra is in nearly every market in Africa and is Ghana's fourth most popular vegetable. To improve the mucilaginous quality, okra is mostly cooked with crude trona. Okra can also be cooked with other food ingredients such as onions and pebbles, while monitoring the temperature of the boiling water to improve the viscosity of the okra, which is the aim of this study. Crude trona, onions, pebbles, and Clemson spineless okra (fresh, green, and tender) were bought from the University of Cape Coast market. A digital rotating viscometer with several rotational viscometer rotors (spindles) with spindle numbers (3, 4) and rotational speeds of 6 rpm, 12 rpm, 30 rpm, and 60 rpm was used to measure the viscosity. The measured viscosities were recorded and repeated throughout the various spindles and rotational speeds. In measuring the initial and final temperatures of the boiled okra (control) and treated samples, a digital thermometer was used. The study revealed that okra cooked with different food additives differed significantly from the control. It was established that using crude trona to cook okra produced a higher viscosity, whereas using pebbles produced the lowest viscosity in this study. This outcome demonstrates how different food additives, as mentioned, affect the okra mucilage's resistance to shear stress and structural integrity.

Keywords: Okra, draw effect, cooking additives, adulterant, viscosity, rotor speed

International journal of adulteration, 2025; 9(11): e5ijad3063

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v9i11.e5ijad3063

Published: 25 August 2025