No abstract

BACKGROUND: Numerous non-meat ingredients, such as hydrocolloids, starches, and fibers, have been studied to improve texture characteristics and increase the ability to bind water in low-fat meat products. In this sense, pulses flours (lentil, chickpea, pea, and bean) were studied at two levels and various water:flour ratios to replace 10-44% pork meat in low-fat burgers and determine the effect on their sensory and technological properties (cooking yield, expressible liquid, diameter reduction, and color and texture profile).RESULTS: All pork-meat burgers that included pulse flour showed higher cooking yields, lower diameter reductions, and expressible liquids than all-meat burgers, which displayed better oil and water retention. Higher water additions resulted in burgers with less hardness. Burgers with 80 g kg −1 lentil flour in all water/flour ratios presented the lowest total color difference (ΔE) compared with the commercial control. Burgers with the higher level of all pulse flour tested and medium water levels showed acceptable sensory scores. CONCLUSIONS: Partial pork meat replacement by different legume flour (lentil, chickpea, pea, and bean), at levels of 80 and 150 g kg −1 and water/flour ratios of 1250, 1600, and 2000 g kg −1 resulted in low-fat burgers with adequate physicochemical characteristics. Moreover, the sensorial evaluation of the formulations with the maximum flour addition and intermediate water/flour ratio showed that they had good sensorial acceptability with no effect of flour type.

Background and Objectives Beans are widely consumed throughout the world, usually as whole seeds. However, its use as flour is not widely used and they could be potential ingredients for developing new products due to their nutritional, physicochemical, and techno‐functional properties. In this sense, these properties of flours obtained from different agronomic‐improved North‐western Argentina (NOA) bean cultivars were studied. Findings All of the bean flours were rich in total dietary fiber and proteins, and also contained phytosterols (β‐sitosterol > stigmasterol > campesterol) and γ‐tocopherol. Flours obtained from colored cultivars showed higher pigments and total phenolic contents and had higher antioxidant activities. In flours, water and oil absorption capacities were correlated to flours' total dietary fiber contents, and adequate emulsion activities and stabilities were observed, positively correlated with their protein contents. Flour starch granules showed smooth surfaces without cracks or fissures, spherical and oval shapes, and heterogeneous sizes. However, no differences were found in starch gelatinization among flours by differential scanning calorimetry and similar Fourier transform infrared spectra or X‐ray diffraction patterns were observed. Conclusions Bean flours are potential ingredients for developing new value‐added products based on their nutritional, physicochemical and functional characteristics. Moreover, even though flours were obtained from different agronomic‐improved NOA bean cultivars, their physicochemical and functional properties were similar, making them potentially food ingredients with functionality. Significance and Novelty All information regarding the analyzed properties in this study shows the nutritional and techno‐functional advantages to popularize the use of bean flours in new food products.