Overview of the Incorporation of Legumes into New Food Options: An Approach on Versatility, Nutritional, Technological, and Sensory Quality

Abstract

Consumers are more aware and demanding of healthy food options, besides being concerned with environment-friendly consumption. This paper aims to evaluate nutritional, technological, and sensory characteristics of legumes and their products’ quality and versatility, considering potential applications in new food options. Legumes are foods that have a recognized nutritional group since they have high protein and fiber content. However, their consumption is still somehow limited for some reasons: in some countries it is not easy to find all the species or cultivars, they need an organization and planning before preparation since they need soaking, and there is the presence of antinutritional factors. Due to the different functionalities of legume proteins, they can be applied to a variety of foods and for different purposes, as grains themselves, aquafaba, extracts, flours, brans, and textured proteins and sprouts. These products have been inserted as ingredients in infant food formulations, gluten-free foods, vegetarian diets, and in hybrid products to reduce food costs as well. Foods such as bread, cakes, cookies, meat analogues, and other baked or cooked products have been elaborated with nutritional, technological and sensory quality. Further development of formulations focused on improving the quality of legume-based products is necessary because of their potential and protein quality.

Biostimulants for Sustainable Food Production: Effects of Wood Distillate to Fortify Chickpea Flour for Development of Functional Bakery Products

“…Noteworthy, chickpea pasta showed an important content of chickpea allergens and immunoglobulin IgE binding proteins, such as 7S globulin, 2S albumin, LTP, and PR-10, similar to hydrated chickpea seeds and cooked chickpeas. During boiling, more allergens from chickpea pasta were transferred to boiling water than chickpea seeds . Furthermore, chickpea flour allowed the production of yeast-leavened bread with suitable functional and sensory properties and better protein quality when compared to the control .…”

Role of food in our teaching and practice

“…Legumes are the obvious choice, they are low cost, offer most essential amino acids, and creative cooks can incorporate them into meals that can meet the sensory needs of consumers. 31 The food industry responded quickly to the multiple demands to offer more diverse alternate protein sources, through meat analogues, yet in recent years this market has seen a rapid fall after the first excited responses with companies reporting decreased revenue, closure and administration. [32][33][34] Sensory experience, especially taste, drives customer acceptance of products, especially for omnivores, and evidence suggests that current meat substitutes are not meeting consumer preferences.…”

“…One proposed mechanism to tackle unfit food structures, is the wider use of plants in our diets, especially as protein sources. Legumes are the obvious choice, they are low cost, offer most essential amino acids, and creative cooks can incorporate them into meals that can meet the sensory needs of consumers 31 . The food industry responded quickly to the multiple demands to offer more diverse alternate protein sources, through meat analogues, yet in recent years this market has seen a rapid fall after the first excited responses with companies reporting decreased revenue, closure and administration 32–34 .…”

Promoting Legume Consumption: Strategies for Health, Nutrition, and Culinary Applications

“…The nutritional composition of legumes plays a pivotal role in their potential health benefits and consumer preferences (Table 1). Legumes are notably rich in protein and fiber, with reported protein and fiber contents varying across different types, such as common soybeans, beans, lentils, and chickpeas [4]. The high protein content of legumes holds promise for their incorporation into foods with lower protein content.…”