Effect of Shelling Methods on the Shelling Efficiency, Product Quality, Functional and Sensory Properties of Melon (Egusi) Seeds sold in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

Local Aba made melon shelling machine type I (sample B) and improved Aba made melon shelling machine type 2 (sample C) were used to shell melon seeds and compared with hand shelling method (sample A). The shelling efficiency, quality of shelled melon seeds, functional properties of the seed flours and sensory properties of egusi soups prepared from the melon seeds were determined. The results revealed that sample A gave the highest shelling efficiency of 92.25%, followed by sample C (90.42%) and the least was sample B (80.85%). For the quality of shelled melon seeds, sample A gave the highest score of 95.88%, following by sample C (94.46%) while sample B gave the least score of 79.84%. There was no significant difference (P> 0.05) in the proximate composition of the melon seeds obtained from the three shelling methods (samples A, B and C). There were no significant difference (P>0.05) in all the selected functional properties between samples A and C while sample B had significantly lower values in all the functional properties that were studied. The mean scores for overall acceptability of egusi soup prepared from the shelled melon seeds were; samples A (7.95), sample B (6.02) and sample C (7.72). Functional and sensory properties of the melon seeds shelled by the improved Aba made melon shelling machine type 2 compared favourably with the hand shelled melon seeds. Hence, it can be recommended for commercial operations to meet the demands of industrial and commercial markets.