Premium
Physicochemical Studies of Hard‐to‐Cook Beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris )
Author(s) -
Kyriakidis Nikolaos B,
Apostolidis Apostolos,
Papazoglou Lambros E,
Karathanos Vaios T
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199706)74:2<186::aid-jsfa785>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - phaseolus , divalent , boiling , chemistry , aqueous solution , calcium , magnesium , food science , calcium carbonate , nuclear chemistry , inorganic chemistry , botany , organic chemistry , biology
Abstract Model aqueous systems were used for the study of the cooking quality of beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ). These systems were created using graded contents of calcium and magnesium ions, in a ratio of 4:1, to prepare aqueous media with cation content corresponding to 0–400 mg litre ‐1 of calcium carbonate. The model systems were used to measure the quality of boiled beans in water of low and high divalent cation content. A boiling time of 60 min was used and the hardness of the boiling beans was measured by an Instron Universal Testing Machine. Cooking of beans in water of low divalent cation content equivalent to 0–50 mg litre ‐1 CaCO 3 resulted in well‐boiled beans for both types (easy‐to‐cook and hard‐to‐cook) of beans. Boiling in water of high divalent cation content led to the formation of very hard beans for both types of bean, while boiling in water of moderate divalent cation content (normal drinking water: 150–250 mg litre ‐1 CaCO 3 ) differentiated between the two categories of beans. These results were further tested by adsorption experiments with divalent cations, on beans boiled (a) in different proportions of boiling water, and (b) in model aqueous systems. The divalent cation content of boiling water and the phytic acid content of the beans proved to be the crucial factors in the hard‐to‐cook phenomenon of beans. © 1997 SCI.