Background and objectives Understanding the influence of genotype (G) and environment (E) on the compositional, functional, and baking properties of pulse flours is important for expanding their use as alternative plant-based ingredients. The objective of this research was to examine the effects of G, E, and their interaction (GxE) on flour and bread properties of peas (yellow and red) and lentils (red and green). Findings For both peas and lentils, main effects of G and/or E were observed for most of the flour and bread parameters including sensory properties. Significant GxE effects were also observed for some of the flour and bread parameters. Conclusions Both G and E influenced the flour and bread baking properties of peas and lentils. To ensure consistent flour quality and to meet flour specifications, G and E should be considered when sourcing peas and lentils for flour production. Significance and novelty The findings from this research greatly advance our understanding of the importance of G and E on the quality of pea and lentil flours and their baking performance.

Background and Objectives Thermally pretreating pulses prior to milling has been successful in improving sensory properties of foods formulated with them. This research investigated the effect of pretreating yellow peas, navy beans, and fava beans using roasting and micronization and examined flour quality, end-product quality, and sensory properties when the flours were used in tortilla and pita bread. Findings Tortillas and pitas made from flours of roasted pulses were generally darker in color. Micronizing was more successful at reducing bitter flavors in tortillas and bitter and beany flavors in pitas and had a greater impact on purchase intent scores. Conclusions Minimal effects on flour and end-product quality were observed. Beany and bitter flavors in tortillas and pitas decreased when yellow peas and navy beans were thermally pretreated prior to milling. Flours milled from micronized navy beans and yellow peas resulted in higher purchase intent scores for tortillas and pitas, respectively. Significance and Novelty Thermal pretreatments had minimal effects on pulse flour quality and improved some sensory properties of the resulting tortillas and pitas. Identifying thermal pretreatments that can improve the sensory properties provides a greater opportunity for the use of pulse flours.

There is a growing global interest in partially replacing wheat flour with pulse flours in foods, including bread. However, undesirable flavors associated with pulse flours, especially yellow pea flour, have limited their use in foods. Pretreating pulses prior to milling offers a possible solution for improving the flavor of pulse flours. The objective of this research was to examine the effect of oven roasting and Revtech roasting (with and without steam) on the compositional, functional, and bread baking properties of whole yellow peas. Regardless of the roasting method used, a roasting temperature of 120°C resulted in flours that retained good functionality and bread baking properties with less detrimental changes in flour color. Bread made with peas roasted at 120°C also had reduced aroma and flavor properties compared to bread made with untreated peas. The strong aroma and flavor properties of yellow peas can be reduced by pretreating the peas prior to milling using conventional oven roasting and Revtech roasting. By selecting the appropriate roasting temperature, flour functionality for bread baking can be maintained. Roasting is a useful premilling treatment for yellow peas. Reducing the off-flavors associated with pulses while maintaining flour functionality will allow for greater use of pulse flours in formulating foods.

AbstractChickpea is a widely produced pulse crop, but requires processing prior to human consumption. Protein bioavailability and amino acid quantity of chickpea flour can be altered by multiple factors including processing method. For this reason, the protein quality of processed chickpea flour was determined using in vivo and in vitro analyses for processed chickpeas. Processing differentially affected the protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of chickpeas with extruded chickpea (83.8) having a higher PDCAAS score than both cooked (75.2) and baked (80.03). Interestingly, the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) value of baked chickpea (0.84) was higher compared to both extruded (0.82) and cooked (0.78). The protein efficiency ratio, another measure of protein quality, was significantly higher for extruded chickpea than baked chickpea (p < .01). In vivo and in vitro analysis of protein quality were well correlated (R2 = .9339). These results demonstrated that under certain circumstances in vitro methods could replace the use of animals to determine protein quality.

Background and objectives Pulse flours are produced by dry grinding pulses. Currently, no standards exist for the particle size of pulse flours. The objective of this study was to investigate how particle size affected the flour and bread-baking properties of commercially milled pulse flours and those produced using a Ferkar mill. Findings Finer pulse flours tended to have greater starch damage, lower water absorption capacity (WAC), and higher peak and final viscosities. Navy bean flour had a larger particle size distribution, lower starch damage, greater WAC, and lower peak and final viscosities due to presence of hull. Red lentil flour had a larger particle size distribution and higher starch damage than yellow pea flour. Bread made with finer pulse flours had better bread scores and a tighter, less open crumb structure. Bread volume was not affected by flour particle size, nor were the sensory properties of the bread in most cases. Conclusions Particle size affected flour and bread-baking properties of pulse flours indicating that particle size should be considered when formulating pulse-based breads. Flours milled from whole pulses will have larger particle size distributions due to the presence of hull. Seed hardness will affect the grinding properties of pulses which will affect particle size and starch damage. Significance and novelty Standardization of particle size for pulse flours would allow for consistency when sourcing flours from different suppliers. However, given that different particle size distributions may be better suited to certain applications than others, it may be more useful if suppliers specify the particle size similar to what is done with oat ingredients.

There is interest in partially replacing wheat flour with pulse flours in bread. However, flavor of pulse flours may be detrimental to the final product. Processing pulses prior to milling, using micronization and pregermination (early seed germination without radicle emergence), was investigated as a way to improve the flavor of yellow pea flour while maintaining or improving flour functionality. Micronization and pregermination of peas prior to milling resulted in changes to flour particle size, color, and compositional and functional properties of the flours. Peas tempered to 18%–20% and micronized to 105–110°C produced a flour that was similar in baking properties to the flour milled from untreated peas with the exception of crumb firmness and aroma and flavor of the bread. All bread made from micronized peas tended to have reduced crumb firmness and improved aroma and flavor properties compared to bread made with untreated peas. Results for the pregerminated peas showed that the flour had higher starch damage and WAC and lower peak and final viscosities compared to the flour milled from untreated peas. Bread baked from pregerminated peas had lower bread quality in terms of bread scores, volume, crumb color, and C-cell properties, but the bread had reduced crumb firmness and improved aroma and flavor properties, compared to bread made with untreated peas. Both micronization and pregermination were suitable premilling treatments for yellow peas. Pregermination, however, warrants additional research to determine whether flour and baking properties can be improved. Pretreating yellow peas using either micronization or pergermination prior to milling were successful in reducing undesirable flavors associated with pea flour. Depending on the treatment and conditions used, flour functionality and bread-baking properties were maintained.

Background and objectives There is interest in partially replacing wheat flour with pulse flours in bread. However, flavor of pulse flours may be detrimental to the final product. Processing pulses prior to milling, using micronization and pregermination (early seed germination without radicle emergence), was investigated as a way to improve the flavor of yellow pea flour while maintaining or improving flour functionality. Findings Micronization and pregermination of peas prior to milling resulted in changes to flour particle size, color, and compositional and functional properties of the flours. Peas tempered to 18%-20% and micronized to 105-110 degrees C produced a flour that was similar in baking properties to the flour milled from untreated peas with the exception of crumb firmness and aroma and flavor of the bread. All bread made from micronized peas tended to have reduced crumb firmness and improved aroma and flavor properties compared to bread made with untreated peas. Results for the pregerminated peas showed that the flour had higher starch damage and WAC and lower peak and final viscosities compared to the flour milled from untreated peas. Bread baked from pregerminated peas had lower bread quality in terms of bread scores, volume, crumb color, and C-cell properties, but the bread had reduced crumb firmness and improved aroma and flavor properties, compared to bread made with untreated peas. Conclusions Both micronization and pregermination were suitable premilling treatments for yellow peas. Pregermination, however, warrants additional research to determine whether flour and baking properties can be improved. Significance and novelty Pretreating yellow peas using either micronization or pergermination prior to milling were successful in reducing undesirable flavors associated with pea flour. Depending on the treatment and conditions used, flour functionality and bread-baking properties were maintained.

In this work, the protein quality of different bean types after undergoing the preparatory methods of baking, cooking and extrusion was assayed. Protein quality was assessed using a rodent bioassay to evaluate growth and protein digestibility while amino acid composition was determined via HPLC. In vivo protein digestibility was compared to an in vitro assessment method. The average protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) for processed beans was higher than the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) (61% vs. 45%). Extrusion/cooking of Phaseolus varieties resulted in higher PDCAAS (66% on average) and DIAAS values (61% on average) than baked (52% and 48%) while baked faba beans had higher PDCAAS (66%) and DIAAS (61%) values. A significant correlation was found between PDCAAS and in vitro PDCAAS (R-2 = 0.7497). This demonstrates which bean processing method will generate the optimal protein quality, which has benefits for both industrial production and individual domestic preparation.

In order to determine the effect of extrusion, baking and cooking on the protein quality of red and green lentils, a rodent bioassay was conducted and compared to an in vitro method of protein quality determination. On average, the Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score of red lentils (55.0) was higher than that of green lentils (50.8). Extruded lentil flour had higher scores (63.01 red, 57.09 green) than either cooked (57.40 red, 52.92 green) or baked (53.84 red, 47.14 green) flours. The average Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score of red lentils (0.54) was higher than green lentils (0.49). The Protein Efficiency Ratio of the extruded lentil flours (1.30 red, 1.34 green) was higher than that of the baked flour (0.98 red, 1.09 green). A correlation was found between in vivo and in vitro methods of determining protein digestibility (R2=0.8934). This work could influence selection of processing method during product development.

AbstractA study to determine the protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid score and protein efficiency ratio of nine different cooked Canadian pulse classes was conducted in support of the establishment of protein quality claims in Canada and the United States. Split green and yellow pea, whole green lentil, split red lentil, Kabuli chickpea, navy bean, pinto bean, light red kidney bean, and black bean were investigated. Protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) and the protein efficiency ratio (PER) were determined using the appropriate rodent models. All pulses had high digestibility values, >70%, with PDCAAS values greater than 0.5, thereby qualifying as a quality protein in the United States, but only navy beans qualified as a good source of protein. All pulses except whole green lentils, split red lentils, and split green peas would qualify as sources of protein with protein ratings between 20 and 30.4 in Canada. These findings support the use of pulses as protein sources in the regulatory context of both the United States and Canada.

In order to determine the effect of extrusion, baking, and cooking on the protein quality of yellow and green split peas, a rodent bioassay was conducted and compared to an in vitro method of protein quality determination. The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of green split peas (71.4%) was higher than that of yellow split peas (67.8%), on average. Similarly, the average Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) of green split peas (69%) was higher than that of yellow split peas (67%). Cooked green pea flour had lower PDCAAS and DIAAS values (69.19% and 67%) than either extruded (73.61%, 70%) or baked (75.22%, 70%). Conversely, cooked yellow split peas had the highest PDCCAS value (69.19%), while extruded yellow split peas had the highest DIAAS value (67%). Interestingly, a strong correlation was found between in vivo and in vitro analysis of protein quality (R-2 = 0.9745). This work highlights the differences between processing methods on pea protein quality and suggests that in vitro measurements of protein digestibility could be used as a surrogate for in vivo analysis.