Ready to compete with flour Suweg "Oatmeal"

Suweg as a kind of large tubers are rarely cultivated and consumed by the public as usual ways of processing can cause itching of the tongue. But with special treatment and used as flour, suweg proved to have greater fiber content than the oatmeal-known as a food control cholesterol levels.


Flour suweg (Amorphophallus campanulatus BI) is ready to compete with instant oats, health foods to keep blood cholesterol low, "said Nur Faridah Didah researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, on Thursday (01/20/2011).


Suweg arrowroot flour instead of wheat was higher fiber content. Arrowroot flour has a total value of dietary fiber is only 9.89 percent while the starch fiber was tested suweg which reached 15.09 percent.
"Flour suweg has good prospects for health food. However, until now there has been no industry that produces it, "said Didah.


Difficulty to produce flour suweg is the difficulty of getting their raw material supply. During this suweg not be cultivated plants, and even most of that is regarded as weeds.
Suweg half ball-shaped tubers with a diameter of 35 centimeters. Maximum weights can reach 15 kilograms per bulb.
According Didah, part of which can be eaten by 86 percent. The usual way of eating by steaming.


When used as a flour suweg, can be used as raw material for noodles or bread. Can be used as slurry.
In addition to fiber content, also tested the glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates to determine the speed of the material is to release glucose into the blood.
Foodstuffs with the parameters of the lower GI will the better, especially for people with diabetes mellitus. Its standards, IG under 55 is low.
IG classified as being in the range 55-70. Then IG with numbers above 70 is high.


"IG on suweg flour reached 36. This is considered very low due to far below the benchmark with a low GI index number 55, "said Didah.
With high-fiber foods and low glycemic index, flour suweg beneficial for preventing colon cancer, diverticular, cardiovascular, obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes or diabetes.


"Flour suweg have a functional as hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic," said Didah.
Encourage cultivation
Didah take two periods for researching this suweg flour. At first, 2003 to 2004. Then continued in 2007 to be able to measure the fiber content of foods and glycemic index.


"With the results of this research, I would encourage farmers to cultivate suweg," he said.
Didah never buy suweg in Sumedang, West Java. The price is still very cheap, but is rarely there.


Suweg a kind of tuber plant plains to an altitude of 800 meters above sea level. Plant bulbs with the hemispherical shape is thought to have come from India. Suweg then spread to Southeast Asia to the islands in the Pacific Ocean.
By the age of one year of planting, tubers can grow suweg reach a diameter of 35 cm. If supported fertility and adequate soil moisture. Suweg also good to grow in the shade of the trees that cover at least 40 percent of sun exposure.


Leaf stalks growing in its center. Leaf stalks grow upright can reach a height of 60-90 cm. If the leaves begin to wilt, then suweg ready to be harvested when the leaves are showing signs of wilting. The trunk began to show yellow color.
Suweg tuber skin dark brown with orange flesh tubers dull to reddish. Suweg tuber flesh can indeed be itchy because they contain calcium oxalate.


Calcium oxalate is actually found in almost all parts of the plant suweg shaped fine needle (raphide). Such as taro, itching from suweg can be prevented by eating a variety of ways, including by immersion in water long enough before cooking.


Then, the cause of itching that can be eliminated by intensive heating. In addition, calcium oxalate can be dissolved with strong acids.
Didah said strong acid are easily found on the market is the hydrochloric acid. However, it also contains toxic hydrochloric acid so it should be used in very small sizes.


Hydrochloric acid used contains 0.25 percent. That, too, just to soak suweg already peeled and sliced ​​for 4 minutes. To neutralize the acidic content back, followed by immersion in a solution of slices suweg calcium carbonate (baking soda) as much as 1 percent for 5 minutes.
Suweg also ready to be processed. If you want ditepung, suweg must be dried until the moisture content of up to 10 percent. Next suweg ready milled into flour with a 60 mesh sieve.


Viewing properties, flour suweg have good economic prospects. Of course, thanks to scientific research as practiced Didah and relatives in college during the time that deserves appreciation.