IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2014) 5-1

Research article
erd

Acceptability of Value Added Products from Giant SwampTaro (Cystosperma chamissonis) Corm
REGUCIVILLA A. POBAR*Bohol Island State University, Bohol, the Philippines
Email: regupobar@gmail.com

EMMYLOU BALO
Bohol Island State University, Bohol, the Philippines

MARIA SHELANIE POBAR
Bohol Island State University, Bohol, the Philippines
Received 7 January 2014

Accepted 1 March 2014(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Giant Swamp Taro “Cyrtosperma chamissonis” is a native plant in thePhilippines. It can also be found in Bohol, Philippines especially in swampy coastal areas.
It is used as food and is prepared in several ways like roasting, grating, or baking the cormwhole. Giant Swamp Taro has traditionally been an important emergency crop in times ofnatural disaster and food scarcity. It is rich in calories, fibre, calcium, iron, zinc, βcarotene, thiamine and Vitamin C. This study ventured to produce T1- Taro Espasol withYoung Buko, and T2- Taro Espasol with Peanuts; to determine its acceptability; and topromote the product to the rural community. This is an experimental study using parallelgroup design with sixty panelists assessing the product in six sensory attributes;
appearance, texture or mouthfeel, cohesiveness, odor, taste and general acceptability,utilizing Hedonic Scale. It was found out that T2 or Giant Swamp Taro with peanuts
ranked first in four sensory attributes; cohesiveness (tie with T0) - Crumbly, Odor - Very
Pleasant, Taste - Moderately Palatable, and in General Acceptability-Very Much
Acceptable. T2 ranked second in texture-Less Soft and third in Appearance - Very
Attractive. On the other hand, T1 or Giant Swamp Taro with Young Buko got the highest
in Appearance-Very Attractive, cohesiveness (tie with T2)- Crumbly, second in tasteModerately Palatable, and in ‘general Acceptability- Very Much Acceptable and third in
Texture and Mouthfeel- less soft, and odor - Very Pleasant. Meanwhile, T0 ranked first in
texture and mouthfeel - less soft, second in appearance - Very Attractive, Odor - Very
Pleasant and third in Cohesiveness - Crumbly, Taste - Moderately Palatable, and General
Acceptability - Very Much Acceptable. It can be concluded that the three treatments ofGiant Swamp Taro Espasol are generally acceptable. It is easy for the rural people toprepare the recipe since it is cooked using carajay and tools which are available in ruralcommunities. Giant Swamp Taro flour can substitute glutinous rice in recipes.
Keywords giant swamp taro, corm, espasol, hedonic tasting, taro flour, glutinous rice

INTRODUCTION
Giant Swamp Taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) is a native plant of the Philippines that has dozens
of varieties thriving on most of three tropical islands in the Pacific (Hopkins, 2012). It is one of thefew subsistence crops that grow well within swampy areas. It may be field stored in the ground forvery long periods (up to 30 years or more) and has traditionally been an important emergency cropof times of natural disaster and food scarcity. In fact in Tonga and some other island, this isconsidered as famine food (Manner, 2011).
Englberger and Levendusky of the Island Food Community of Pomhpei promote giant swamp
taro along with other local foods can protect against many serious diseases such as Vitamin AⒸ ISERD136

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deficiency, anemia, diabetes, heart disease and cancer (Wagner, 2006). It is rich in minerals (zinc,calcium and iron), β-carotene, and fiber (Manner, 2011).
Giant Swamp Taro is highly valued but consumption is infrequent. It can be eaten to replace
other crops like breadfruit when not in season, it can withstand strong winds and hurricanes, thus
providing food security (Englberger et al., 2004).
The main product of Giant Swamp Taro is the corm which can be roasted, boiled, baked,mashed, grated and combined with other starches for eating. The leaves and inflorescences can beeaten as vegetables and the petioles yield a fiber suitable for weaving. The big leaves are used asfood wrapper and also to cover the earth oven (Hopkins, 2012).
In the Philippines, especially in Bohol, Giant Swamp Taro are not given much value as food, it
is only eaten when nothing can be eaten anymore, when there are still other food to eat, Giant
Swamp Taro is forgotten. In Anda, Bohol for example many Giant Swamp Taro are dying because
it is not taken as food. So to promote Giant Swamp Taro, the researcher thought of making recipes
out of taro so that it can be fully utilized. The researcher believed that there is enough supply of
Giant Swamp Taro since in the eastern part of Bohol, around 15 hectares are planted with Giant
Swamp Taro which according to the President of the Cooperative producing taro flour cannot cause
its extinction but can save the dying taro since the cause of its death is the non-consumption of themother corm. So, that 15 hectare taro farm is more than enough to supply the raw material if a hugevolume is needed in the production of more taro products.
This study ventured to produce Espasol utilizing Giant Swamp Taro flour as the main
ingredient. Espasol is a type of rice cake made out of rice flour cooked in coconut milk, sweetened
and dusted with toasted rice flour. It originated in Laguna, Philippines and popularly sold in major
thoroughfares, bus stops and specialty shops in Laguna (Merano, 2009). The researcher assumed
that Giant Swamp Taro flour can replace malagkit/glutinous rice flour in the recipe.
The researchers believed that in this study the Giant Swamp Taro farmers can get benefit fromthe new recipes, their taro corms can be utilized as a snack item and not be left behind unconsumed
or unutilized or just as food for hogs. The rural community can also get benefit because they canuse the new recipe as new addition to their snack or dessert. The entrepreneurs can mass produce
these recipes and sell them for another income.
OBJECTIVE
The study aimed to produce Espasol from Giant Swamp Taro; to identify the ingredients, tools,equipment and the procedure in producing the three treatments of Giant Swamp Taro Espasol; todetermine the acceptability of the product; to promote the products to the local community and toencourage them to use the products. The products were developed at Bohol Island State University,Main Campus, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines for Academic Year 2012-2013.
METHODOLOGYThis study is experimental using parallel group design and utilizing five-point Hedonic Scale. The
finished products were subjected to sensory appraisals of sixty panelists consisting of twenty
community people, thirty students and ten Food Technology instructors. Sensory appraisal is ascientific method used to evoke, measure, analyze and interpret reactions to those characteristics offood materials as they are perceived by the senses of sight, smell, touch and hearing (ASTM MNL14).
This study was conducted in the Food Technology Laboratory of Bohol Island State
University Main Campus, Tagbilaran City. The sixty panelists broken down as follows: twenty-fivecommunity people, twenty-five Food Technology students and ten Food Technology instructors.
They were chosen to make sure that each must free from taste perception disorders, odor perception
disorders, color blindness and denture defects which might affect their judgment of the product(Hashimi, 2007).
The researchers formulated the four recipes utilizing Giant Swamp Taro flour in threeⒸ ISERD137

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treatments; first is the Plain Swamp Taro Espasol as treatment, second is the Giant Swamp Tarowith Young Buko as treatment 1 and the third is Giant Swamp Taro with Peanuts for Treatment 2.
The products were evaluated two times, first in the afternoon and the other in the following day,since according to Panlasang Pinoy, Espasol has best result if consumed the next day as it will
firm-up. The five point Hedonic Scale was used with the following range and descriptive rating.
Table 1 Descriptive rating
NumericalRating
4.50-5.00
3.50-4.49
2.50-3.49
1.50-2.49
1.00-1.49

Appearance
Most
Attractive
Very
Attractive
Attractive
Less
Attractive
Not
Attractive

Descriptive Rating
CohesivenessOdor

TextureSoft

TenderLess Soft

Crumbly

FirmLess Hard

GrainyFibrous

Hard

CoarseMost
Pleasant
Very
Pleasant
Pleasant
Less
Pleasant
UnpleasantTasteHighly
Palatable
Moderately
Palatable
Palatable
Less PalatableNot Palatable

GeneralAcceptability
Most Acceptable
Very Much
Acceptable
Acceptable
Less Acceptable
Not Acceptable

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The researchers found out that the following are the ingredients of the three treatments of Giant
Swamp Taro Espasol.
Table 2 Ingredients
Ingredients
2 cups Giant Swamp Taro flour
2 cups coconut milk
¾ cup centrifugal sugar¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup Taro flour for dusting
1 stalk pandan tied to knot
1 cup young buko, shredded½ cup peanuts, toasted andcrushed
1 sheet water cellophane forwrappingTo
Plain Giant SwampTaro Espasol√√√√√√T1
Giant Swamp Taro Espasol
with Young Buko√√√√√√√

T2
Giant Swamp Taro Espasolwith peanuts√√√√√√√√√√The three treatments of Giant Swamp Taro used Giant Swamp Taro flour, coconut milk,
centrifugal and brown sugar, pandan leaves for flavoring, young buko for treatment 1, crushed
peanuts for treatment 2 and water cellophane for wrapping for the three treatments.
Tools/equipment needed: The preparation of the three treatments of Giant Swamp Taro recipes
required the use of the following tools and equipment: flour sifter, spatula, rubber spatula,measuring cup, measuring spoon, coconut grater, strainer, wooden ladle, tin sheets, carajay, stove.
Procedure: The procedure used in preparing the three treatments of Espasol are as follows: Heatthe carajay, add the Giant Swamp Taro flour. Cook in medium heat until toasted or golden brown
while continues mixing. Turn off heat, set aside. This will be used for dusting. In a mixing bowl,
put together coconut cream, sugar and pandan. Mix and transfer to a carajay. Bring to a boil thenlower the heat to medium. Remove pandan leaves and continue boiling, add the flour until thick.
Place in a tin sheet dusted with flour then flatten with a rolling pin. Slice into long strips. Roll it toform a cylindrical shape cake. Roll each in toasted flour. Wrap in water cellophane.
The three treatments were then subjected to sensory evaluation by the panelists. First was rightafter cooking and the second was a day after it was prepared. The panelists were asked to take aglass of water in between tasting of the product so as not to mix the taste of the products. LikewiseⒸ ISERD

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they were also blindfolded when evaluating the taste and the odor of the three treatments of Giantswamp Espasol so that their judgment of the product will not be affected by the appearance of theproduct.
Table 3 Result of sensory evaluation
Attributes
Appearance

Texture/ Mouthfeel

Cohesiveness

Odor

Taste

General Acceptability

Treatments
T0
T1
T2
T0
T1
T2
T0
T1
T2
T0
T1
T2
T0
T1
T2
T0
T1
T2

Trial 14.29
4.24
4.28
4.29
4.18
4.22
4.36
4.5
4.4
4.43
4.24
4.4
4.38
4.31
4.59
4.3
4.27
4.34

Trial 2
4.1
4.5
3.9
4.65
4.5
4.55
4.4
4.4
4.5
4.2
4.1
4.5
4.25
4.55
4.3
4.3
4.45
4.6

Average
4.20
4.37
4.09
4.47
4.34
4.38
4.38
4.45
4.45
4.32
4.17
4.45
4.32
4.43
4.44
4.3
4.36
4.47

Rank
2
13
1
3
2
3
1.5
1.5
2
3
13
2
13
2
1

Descriptive Rating
Very Attractive
Very Attractive
Very Attractive
Less SoftLess SoftLess Soft
CrumblyCrumbly
Crumbly
Very Pleasant
Very Pleasant
Very PleasantModerately Palatable
Moderately Palatable
Moderately Palatable
Very Much Acceptable
Very Much Acceptable
Very Much Acceptable

Result of the First Trial
As shown in the result of the first trial, in appearance, T0 or the Plain Giant Swamp Taro Espasol
ranked first while T1 or Giant Swamp Taro Espasol with Young Buko ranked third but all thetreatments received a descriptive rating of Very Attractive. When comes to texture, still T0 ranked
first while T1 ranked third with a descriptive Rating of Less Soft. For cohesiveness, T1 got thehighest rating with a descriptive rating of Tender while T0 got the lowest with a Descriptive Ratingof Crumbly. For Odor, T0 has the highest rating while T1 got the lowest; Taste, T2 got the rating of
4.59, described as Highly Palatable and T2, the lowest has a rating of 4.31 Moderately Palatable.
Result disclosed that T2 ranked first in General Acceptability with T1, the lowest, the threetreatments received a Descriptive Rating of Very Much Acceptable.
Result of the Second Trial
As manifested in the result of Second Trial, T1 got a rating of 4.5 or Most Attractive in Appearance
while T2 got 3.9 or Very Attractive in the same Attribute. On the other hand, T0 got 4.65 or Soft
while T2 got 4.55 both described as Soft in Texture and Mouthfeel. For cohesiveness, T2 has thehighest rating of 4.5 with a descriptive Rating of Tender and T0 and T1 got a tie rating of 4.4
described as Crumbly. In odor, T2 has a rating of 4.5 or Most Pleasant while T1 has 4.1 or Very
Pleasant. For Taste, T1 has a rating of 4.55 or Highly Palatable and T0 has 4.25 or ModeratelyPalatable and for General Acceptability, T2 has the highest rating of 4.6 or Most Acceptable andT0 has 4.3 or Very Much acceptable. The result of the second trial affirmed that Espasol has better
result when allowed to firm up since in the General Acceptability T2 is rated Most Acceptable andthe other two treatments were rated Very Much Acceptable while in the texture and mouthfeel thethree treatments were rated soft.
Average Rating of First and Second Trial
The overall rating disclosed that T2 or Giant Swamp Taro Espasol with peanuts ranked first in fourattributes, Cohesiveness, (tie with T1), Odor, Taste and General Acceptability. The result is inconsonance with the theory of Gatchialan which states that when the Odor and Taste of the productⒸ ISERD

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are acceptable, the product is generally acceptable. T0 on the other hand got the highest rating inTexture and mouthfeel while T1 ranked first in appearance and cohesiveness (tie with T2).
Shelf Life
Samples of the products were allowed to stand at room temperature to observe the changes that
may take place, it was observed that T0 and T2 lasted for 6 days while T1 lasted only for three days.
The addition of young buko caused the Espasol to spoil earlier than the other treatments whichwere T0 Plain Giant Swamp Espasol and T2- Giant Swamp Espasol with Peanuts. The addition ofpeanuts in T2 had contributed the shelf life of the product and so it lasted longer.
Marketability
The three products were displayed at the university canteen other products were displayed at thecooperative store of Anda, Bohol where many Giant Swamp Taro can be found. After a week ofdisplay in the cooperative store, the three treatments were all sold out, while in the university
canteen it took two weeks for the product to be sold out.
CONCLUSION
Giant Swamp Taro Espasol can be prepared using the taro flour. It can be used for food other thanthe usual boiling which rural people used to eat like the three treatments of Espasol in this study.
The three treatments are all acceptable for food. It is easy for the rural people to prepare since it iscooked using carajay and tools which are available in the rural communities. Giant Swamp Taroflour can substitute glutinous rice in recipes.
It is recommended that information dissemination be done to promote the use of Giant Swamp
Taro Espasol as snack items; preparing these value-added products from giant Swamp Taro beextended to rural community so that these nutritious snack items can be used as part of their meals;value-added products from Giant Swamp Taro be introduced to the entrepreneurs so that these canbe mass produced and sold in the community; and other food technologists be inspired toexperiment other products using Giant Swamp Taro with a hint that this could be used as substitutefor glutinous rice.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research undertaking comes into fruition with the kind assistance from Bohol Island State
University administration, faculty and Food Technology students. In particular, the researchers are
grateful to Dr. Elpidio T. Magante, CE, Ed.D., University President, for the permission and warm
support in the conduct of the study. Acknowledgement is likewise due to the Campus Director Dr.
Nelson M. Patena and to Prof. Lucia J. Poyos, her researcher assistant.
REFERENCES
ASTM MNL. 14. The role of sensory analysis in quality control. (Retrieved from: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory-analysis).
Englberger, L., Jonhson, E. and Paul, Y. 2004. Report on the visit to the Pohmpei atollisland of mokil
documenting and promoting local food crops. (Accessed: August 1, 2013).
Hashimi, I. 2007. Evaluation Techniques. (Retrieved from http://www.iaom-mea.com/EduMat/Dec.11/
Session 5/Tech 10-AGF-IAOM-Muscat-07pdf. Accessed : October 22, 2013).
Hopkins, I. 2012. Giant swamp taro: Uptapped potential in the pacific. (Retrieved from : blogs.worldwatch.
org/…/giant-swamp-taro-untapped-potential-in-the-pac, accessed : October 28, 2013).
Manner, H. 2011. Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for giant swamp taro. (Retrieved fromhttp:// agroforestry.net/scps, Accessed : August 3, 2013).
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Morano, V. 2009. Espasol. (Retrieved from http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/10/24/espasol., Accessed : July15, 2013).
Wagner, K. 2006. Geneflow: A publication about agricultural biodiversity. (Retrieved from books.ggogle.
com.ph/book?isbn=9290437243. http://www.spc.int/lrd/cepactacc/swamptaro.ph.p, Accessed : August 2,2013).

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