## 1 Introduction  
Yam (_Dioscorea_ spp.) remains one of the essential staple food crops preferred over other root and tuber crops in West Africa; over 400 million people, including rural growers, processors, and consumers, depend on yam as a major staple food crop in the yam zone of West Africa, which extends from Cameroon to the Ivory Coast [1, 2]. In underdeveloped countries, yam significantly contributes to food security, traditional medicine, and high economic value [3]. It occupies a significant position as the fourth most essential and exploited root and tuber crop globally after potatoes (_Solanum_ spp. ), cassava (_Manihot esculent_), and sweet potatoes (_Ipomoea_ spp. ), and the second in West Africa after cassava [4, 5]. The FAO reported a global production of approximately 74.9 million tons over 8.9 million hectares of cultivated area and a yield of 8.5 t/ha [6], which underpins its importance in fighting food insecurity. Of the global yam production, Africa contributes 97.8%, and Nigeria alone is responsible for about 66.9% of this record, while Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo account for 30.9% [6]. The tuber crop is so important that it provides food and income for most African rural residents. However, its industrial potential has not been fully explored [7]. Yams are consumed by boiling, roasting, or frying. After boiling, yam can be formed into a dough (bounded yam) and served with any desired soup [8; 9]. Water yam, also known as winged yam, is one of the 11 economically significant yam species and a staple crop in tropical and subtropical regions [10; 11]. This yam species is widely grown because of its favorable agronomic qualities and quality attributes, including high yield, better tuber storability, and tolerance to non-staking circumstances [11]. Water yam has a low glycemic index due to its low sugar content, which is necessary for diabetic patients [12]. It also has a substantial content of polyphenic compounds (tannins), alkaloids (dioscorine), and steroid derivatives (diosgenin), which serve as potent antioxidants. It also contains a higher protein content, vitamin C, and lower lipids than _D. capenesis_, _D. esculenta_, _D. rotundata_, and _D. trifida_[13]. Moreover, water yam has some health benefits such as anti-leprosy, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatism, purgative, and anti-cancer properties. It also tends to lower diabetes and possesses the potential for antioxidant activity [14]. Water yam remains underutilized despite its numerous agronomic and nutritional qualities, primarily due to the traditional bias by consumers that it does not give a good food product quality, like its counterpart, white yam; an assumption that has resulted in the neglect of the various nutritional, health, and economic benefits of this yam species. Regarding food product quality, the yam breeding program aims to produce water yam with superior food qualities, which can be compared favorably with the widely consumed white yam. For instance, [PERSON] et al. [15] investigated the similarities between water yam and white _yam_ regarding their biophysical characteristics. They found that some cultivars of water yam presented characteristics similar to those of white yam in terms of starch and amylose content. However, the authors reported that the texture of the water yam varieties used for the study could have been better than that of white yam species. Also, [PERSON] et al. [16] reported a strong relationship between the pounded paste's final viscosity, setback, and peak viscosity, and some textural attributes such as stickiness and cohesiveness for both yam spices. Other authors have compared the food quality characteristics of water yam with the adopted white yam; one is the conversion to instant bounded yam flour. Blanching water yam for 10 min at 70 \({}^{\circ}\)C produced a comparable amount of instant yam flour to white yam [17].