Energy density of Third World weaning foods

In the Third World, weaning foods made from cereals tend to be gruels of low energy density which cannot be consumed by weanlings in quantities adequate to provide energy needs. Raising the energy density by increasing the solid content produces unacceptably viscous results. Addition of fats and oils raises the energy density but may jeopardize protein intake. The use of germinating seeds and fermentation are traditional techniques which can play a useful role in reducing viscosity. The addition of enzyme to hydrolyse starch is a technical solution which can readily be incorporated into traditional techniques at village level. Extrusion processing, while successful in producing a less viscous gruel, is too sophisticated for small scale processing.