An investigation of Basotho culinary practices and consumer acceptance of Basotho traditional bread

375 Pages·2014·11.48 MB·English

An investigation of Basotho culinary practices and consumer
acceptance of Basotho traditional bread

Pulane Nkhabutlane

Thesis

PhD Cons Sc (Food Management)

Study Leader: Dr. G.E. Du Rand
Co-study Leader: Prof. H.L. De Kock

May 2014
An investigation of Basotho culinary practices and consumer
acceptance of Basotho traditional bread

By

Pulane Nkhabutlane

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

PhD in Consumer Science (Food Management)

In the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science

Department of Consumer Science

Study Leader: Dr. G.E. Du Rand
Co-study Leader: Prof. H.L. De Kock

May 2014
ii
DECLARATION

I, Pulane Nkhabutlane, hereby declare that the thesis for the degree, Doctor of
Philosophy in Consumer Science (Food Management) at the University of Pretoria,
submitted by me, has not previously been submitted for a degree at this or any other
university and that it is my own work in design and execution and that all reference
material contained herein has been duly acknowledged.

_________________
Pulane Nkhabutlane

May 2014

iii
DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my dear parents, ‘Me` ‘MaPulane Khati
and my late father Ntate Maile Khati. To my beloved family, my
husband Ntate Buti Nkhabutlane for his love, and my two lovely
children, Tankiso Nkhabutlane and Mosa Nkhabutlane.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to a number of people who assisted and
supported me to successfully complete my studies.
It is my pleasure to thank and honour Dr. Gerrie du Rand who is my main supervisor.
Your guidance and constructive criticism have played a major role to the success of my
study.

I will forever be grateful to have worked with Prof. Henriëtte de Kock as my Co-
supervisor. You believed in me and helped me realise my goal. Your willingness to help
has always puzzled me. Your contribution to the success of my study which includes
financial support to carry out data collection, your dedication to my work and many other
contributions have not gone unnoticed. My study could have not been completed if you
were not part of this team. Above everything else, you taught me the true meaning of
humility. I have seen your humbleness in many instances and I will always admire you
for that. You inspired me and I am challenged to impart the same attitude to my
students.

I am thankful to Dr. Mike van der Linde for his assistance when I was constructing both
the preliminary study and survey questionnaires. Your special skills in data analysis and
guidance to interpret data are highly appreciated.

In addition to my study leaders, I acknowledge the contribution and guidance that I
received from Prof. John Taylor, Dr. Emmabux and Dr. Annemarie Viljoen
concerning certain areas of my study that needed their specialities.

I express my gratitude to Moji and Funmi, post doctorate students who dedicated their
time, and shared their knowledge with me to perform phase 2 of my study. This phase
would have never come to pass without you.
Special thanks go to the Culinary Equipment Company–Lanseria, Gauteng for the use
of the mill and facilities.

v
My appreciation also goes to Marise Kinnear for being resourceful with regard to
matters related to sensory evaluation of this study.

Many thanks go to the Nutrition extension officers and chiefs in the regions
investigated in Lesotho for their assistance to recruit participants and for allowing me to
conduct research in their areas.

My heartfelt thanks go to the women in Lesotho who participated in this study. Their
compassion and willingness to share the knowledge, equipment, raw materials and
commitment to demonstrations provided valuable data on Basotho culinary practices
regarding the preparation of traditional bread. Their attitude instilled the desire to study
more about Basotho food and culture.
I was very fortunate to associate with staff members and students in the Department of
Food Science. I thank the administration of that department for giving me access to the
department and allowing me to do my experiments even far beyond the working hours.
Phase 2 and phase 3 of my study could have not been possible if it were not because of
your kindness. Involving me in extra-mural activities and the friendship I got from
postgraduate students made me feel at home. It could have been a long and lonely
journey without you. I would especially like to thank Bheki Dlamini, Eric Amonsou,
Joseph Anyango, Penina and Fidelis, for their willingness to help me with my work
whenever I approached them.
I would also like to thank the management and staff members of the main Library of the
University of Pretoria, for providing me with the most comfortable and conducive space
for postgraduate research. The writing up of my thesis could not have been possible if it
were not because of Research commons.
The study could not have been complete without the assistance of Prof. Francina Moloi
with her professional language editing and Mrs. Ingrid Booysen for assisting with
graphical and technical editing.
A list of my friends, prayer partners and colleagues is endless. I am grateful to be
surrounded by such a strong army of the highest Kingdom. I love you all people and
thank you very much for your unending prayers and support. I will never forget how you
stood by me when I lost my dear father during the course of this PhD journey, in 2010.
vi
Many thanks go to my grandmother Nkhono Matjoba Matekane, whose knowledge on
traditional Basotho bread helped in the initial stages of my study.
I thank my mother-in-law ‘Me ‘Mamokuba Nkhabutlane, for her support and
encouragement.
My lovely sisters and brothers, thank you for your sincere love and constant prayers
especially you, Mateboho Mokhele, for always showing up at my house every time your
assistance was needed. I never felt the pressure of being away from home.
I express my sincere gratitude in memory of my aunt Rakhali ‘Mamanthe Khati who
saw value in me and contributed in a number of ways to the early stages of my
education.
A special “thank you” goes to my parents, my mother ‘Me ‘Mapulane Khati for her
exceptional mothering ability, all the sacrifices she made to educate me and for her
encouragement when I needed it very much. Kea leboha ‘Me oa ka, and my late father,
Ntate Maile Khati, for loving my mother.
From the bottom of my heart I am grateful for the type of family I have. To my children
(Tankiso and Mosa Nkhabutlane), you are such a blessing. Thank you for your love
and understanding. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it were not because of my husband
(Ntate Buti Nkhabutlane). Thank you for enduring the pain of staying alone for four
years, for caring, loving and supporting me throughout the journey. If all men were like
you, this world would be a better place to live in. I love you.
Nothing will ever separate me from the love of God. I have seen more of him in this PhD
journey. He is alive and his name is JESUS.

vii
ABSTRACT

Title: AN INVESTIGATION OF BASOTHO CULINARY PRACTICES
AND CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF BASOTHO
TRADITIONAL BREAD

by

PULANE NKHABUTLANE

Supervisor: Dr. Gerrie E. du Rand

Co-supervisor: Prof. Henriëtte L. de Kock

Department: Consumer Science

Degree: PhD in Consumer Science: Food Management

The overall aim of this study was to investigate the culinary practices of Basotho with
regard to traditional bread, to characterise breads and to apply the cultural hedonic
framework to describe consumers’ perceptions about the acceptance of traditional
Basotho breads.

The culinary practices of Basotho have been transferred from one generation to the
other without or with very limited documentation. The only sourced information was a
research done by Ashton in 1939. The knowledge of traditional bread preparation and its
acceptance by Basotho consumers is currently limited.

Food practices are embedded in culture and every culture has specifications pointing to
the hedonic characteristics of food such as taste, appearance, flavour and aroma, which
are determined by the context in which the food is selected or consumed. It was
important to understand the cultural hedonic framework underlying Basotho bread
acceptance.

viii
The study was exploratory and descriptive in nature. Food acceptance and cultural
hedonic framework theories were used to explore the reasons underlying the choice of
bread. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative techniques of collecting
data in the three phases. Data related to culinary practices was collected by a structured
questionnaire and focus groups in phase 1. Phase 2 was the standardisation of recipes
obtained in phase 1. The standardised breads were characterised in phase 3 by
describing selected physico–chemical and sensory characteristics of dough and breads.
The responses to the questionnaire and descriptive sensory evaluation were statistically
analysed and the grounded theory approach was used to analyse data from focus
groups.

Ten Basotho breads prepared from wheat, maize and sorghum were identified in both
rural and urban areas of Lesotho. Preparation of traditional Basotho breads involves
preparation of grains (washing, sorting, soaking, dehulling, dry milling and wet milling),
mixing/kneading, fermentation and cooking. Steaming method is applied to all breads,
but baking and pot-roasting are used for wheat breads only.

Younger participants were less familiar with maize and sorghum breads than they were
with wheat breads. Unfamiliarity with the sensory attributes of these products,
contributed to their lower acceptance. The older participants were familiar with all
traditional breads and valued them for use in the important Basotho cultural ceremonies.
The movement from the rural areas to urban areas has also changed the traditional
bread practices to modern westernised ways. This therefore placed Lesotho into both
higher and lower cultural hedonic context such that rural and old people are higher
context cultures and urban and younger people are lower context cultures.

The type of grain flour used influenced the sensory characteristics of breads. Red
sorghum breads reflected dark red crumb and white maize breads reflected white crumb.
Fine flour produced lighter breads than coarse flour of the same cereal type. Non-wheat
breads were more crumbly, hard and fibrous than wheat breads. The instrumental
texture analysis showed plastic deformation for wheat breads, brittle deformation for
non-wheat breads and elastic deformation for standard breads.

ix
It is recommended that more attention be given to the development, standardisation and
improvement of traditional bread recipes in order to produce bread with acceptable
sensory attributes. The findings of this study help to understand and interpret the overall
scope of Basotho attitude towards breads for the maximum utilisation of local grains in
Lesotho. The study adds the Basotho perspective of cultural food acceptance to the
excisting global knowledge of food choice regarding traditional food products.

Keywords: Culinary practices
Basotho traditional bread
Cultural hedonic framework
Food acceptance
Standardisation
Sensory characteristics

x