Comparative Quality Study on Pneumatic Charcoal Kiln and Traditional Fish Smoke Kiln

A comparative equality study on the Pneumatic charcoal kiln and Traditional smoke kiln was carried out at Federal University, Gashua. Yobe, State. The pneumatic charcoal kiln consisting three chambers (fan chamber, charcoal chamber and smoking chamber) was constructed with chaka plates and wrought iron metal sheets while the traditional fish smoke kiln (0.5m X 0.5m X 1.5m) was constructed with clayed soil. A total number of one hundred and fifty (150) Clarias gariepinus weighed 15.5kg on average were used for each of the two smoking kilns. Smoking process lasted for 12 hours in the traditional smoke kiln and 5 hours in the Pneumatic charcoal kiln. Initial and final weights of charcoals recorded during smoking process in the two smoking kilns showed that lower charcoal (40 kg) was used in pneumatic kiln while higher charcoal (75 kg) was used in the traditional smoking kiln during smoking process. Data obtained for appearance (7.9±0.04), texture (7.5±0.12), odour (7.7±0.00) and taste (8.3±0.27) showed that organoleptic tests of smoked fish from pneumatic charcoal kiln were better than the smoked fish from the traditional smoke kiln. The study showed that pneumatic charcoal kiln was not only environmental friendly but also more efficient than the traditional smoke kiln and the fish smoked from it had pleasant odour and better texture.

Keywords: Smoke, traditional kiln, pneumatic kiln, Clarias gariepinus, quality.