Culinary alternatives for common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): sensory characteristics of immature seeds

BACKGROUND: Immature bean seeds feature in several dishes in southern Europe; however, they are not used in all traditional areas of dry beans cultivation. To determine whether differences in the use of immature seeds are due to cultural reasons or intrinsic properties of the seeds, the prestigious varieties of beans cultivated in three areas of Spain with different traditions regarding the use of immature seeds in bean dishes were studied. RESULTS: We found differences in the culinary and sensory traits between beans harvested when mature and those harvested when immature in the three areas. However, the degree and direction of these differences varied according to the area. Moreover, the different varieties tested within each area responded differently. The sum of the genetic, environmental and interaction effects results in complex alternatives to the mature beans; the gastronomic tradition has taken advantage of only some of these alternatives. CONCLUSIONS: A lack of traditional dishes using immature beans does not mean that the local beans harvested when immature lack suitable sensory traits. Specific trials in each area of cultivation can reveal alternative textures and bean flavour intensities in immature seeds. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cassava traits and end-user preference: Relating traits to consumer liking,sensory perception,and genetics

Breeding efforts have focused on improving agronomic traits of the cassava plant however little research has been done to enhance the crop palatability. This review investigates the links between cassava traits and end-user preference in relation with sensory characteristics. The main trait is starch and its composition related to the textural properties of the food. Pectin degradation during cooking resulted in increased mealiness. Nutritional components such as carotenoids made the cassava yellow but also altered sweetness and softness; however, yellow cassava was more appreciated by consumers than traditional (white) varieties. Components formed during processing such as organic acids gave fermented cassava products an acidic taste that was appreciated but the fermented smell was not always liked. Anti-nutritional compounds such as cyanogenic glucosides were mostly related to bitter taste. Post-harvest Physiological Deterioration (PPD) affected the overall sensory characteristics and acceptability. Genes responsible for some of these traits were also investigated. Diversity in cassava food products can provide a challenge to identifying acceptance criteria. Socio-economic factors such as gender may also be critical. This review leads to questions in relation to the adaptation of cassava breeding to meet consumer needs and preference in order to maximize income, health and food security.     

Potential for increasing the amounts of bioavailable zinc in dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) through plant breeding

A whole‐body radioassay procedure was used to assess the bioavailability to rats of zinc (Zn) in seeds of 18 genotypes of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) that were grown hydroponically. Dry beans that were labelled intrinsically with ⁶⁵Zn were added to test meals fed to rats that were marginally Zn‐deficient. The amount of Zn in the seeds varied between genotypes and ranged from 26.7 to 62.4 µg g^?1 (from 0.41 to 0.95 µmol g^?1) dry weight (DW). Similarly, the amount of iron (Fe) in the beans varied nearly twofold (from 52.3 to 96.3 µg g^?1 DW), and Zn and Fe concentrations were positively correlated. Concentrations of myo‐inositolhexaphosphate (IP6) plus myo‐inositolpentaphosphate (IP5) varied from 18.1 to 27.3 µmol g^?1 DW. Cultivars with white‐coloured seeds contained relatively small amounts of tannins varying from 0.12 to 0.16 mg g^?1 DW (determined as catechin equivalents) compared to those with coloured seed coats (up to 2.58 mg g^?1 DW). All rats readily ate the test meals so that Zn intake varied directly with seed‐Zn concentration. As indicated by ⁶⁵Zn absorption, the bioavailability to rats of Zn in the seeds varied between genotypes and ranged from about 78 to 95% of the total Zn in the seeds. The bioavailability of Zn to marginally Zn‐deficient rats was not affected markedly by either IP5 + IP6 or tannin in the dry beans. These results demonstrate that the concentration of Zn in dry beans can be increased through traditional plant‐breeding techniques and that this may result in significant increases in the amount of bioavailable Zn in the beans. Increasing the amount of Zn in beans may contribute significantly to improving the Zn status of individuals dependent on beans as a staple food. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Phenolics and antioxidative activities in common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L)

Six bean cultivars grown in southern Manitoba for 2 years were evaluated for variability in yield of millstreams and phenolic constituents. The ethanolic extract of bean cultivars and millstreams was screened for antioxidant activity using the β‐carotene‐linoleate and the 1, 1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in vitro model systems. Cultivar was the main source of variation for yield of millstreams, content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities. Phenolic compounds in cultivars varied from 3.3 to 16.6 mg catechin equivalent and from 0.15 to 0.32 mg cyanidin‐3‐glucoside equivalent g^?1 bean for total phenolic and anthocyanin contents, respectively. The bean cultivars exhibited antioxidant activity (AA) of 10–46% inhibition of lipid peroxidation in the linoleate and 0.4–1.3 trolox equivalent antioxidant capacities (TEAC) in the DPPH model systems. The hull millstream with maximum concentration of phenolic compounds exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity of 383 µM trolox equivalent g^?1 hull. Total phenolic content, alone or in combination with other phenolic constituents, is a potential candidate as a selection criterion for antioxidant activity in beans. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nutritional value of cooked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and their isolated major protein fractions

The digestibility and nutritional properties of whole cooked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) and their isolated and cooked major protein fractions were evaluated in rats. Isolated globulin GI was highly digestible (89.5%) but had a low NPR value (1.51). The albumins and glutelins exhibited intermediate digestibilities (79.1 and 73.2%) and a biological utilisation NPR of 3.18 and 2.91, respectively, 30% lower than casein. Whole beans exhibited the poorest digestibility (62.8%) with a faecal excretion of more than 30% of the ingested nitrogen and an intermediate NPR of 2.27. There was a direct relation between the amount of ingested dietary fibre and dry matter and N excretion. Enrichment of whole beans with the isolated albumin fraction, rich as it is in sulphur amino acids, did not improve NPR value. Dry beans apparently contain components producing undigestible protein complexes which affect amino acid availability and increase endogenous nitrogen excretion.     

Thermal inactivation kinetics of peroxidase and lipoxygenase from fresh pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

 Thermal inactivation kinetics of crude peroxidase (POX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) in fresh pinto beans were studied over the temperature range of 55–90°C. The inactivation of both enzymes followed first-order kinetics. The biphasic inactivation curves for POX indicate the existence of several isoenzymes of varying heat stability. In the temperature range of 55–70°C, the activation energies (E _a) of POX were 46.5 kcal·mol^–1 for the heat-labile portion and 37.6 kcal·mol^–1 for the heat-stable portion. On the other hand, the LOX enzyme had an E _a value of 42.26 kcal·mol^–1 at 55–75°C and 49.1 kcal·mol^–1 at 55–90°C. Received: 28 July 1997 / Revised version: 16 October 1997     

Clustering of variables, application in consumer and sensory studies

We consider two dissimilarity measures between variables that take account of the variances of the variables as well as of their correlations. When variables are standardised, we retrieve widely used dissimilarity measures. The first dissimilarity measure is Euclidean distance and is suitable in studies where negative correlation between variables implies disagreement. The second dissimilarity measure is a Procrustean distance and is suitable in situations where both positive and negative correlations imply agreement. We also discuss aggregation strategies in order to carry out hierarchical clustering and find groups of variables. Applications in consumer and sensory studies are outlined.     

Automated prediction of sensory scores for color and appearance in canned black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) using machine vision

Evaluation of canning quality of beans is commonly carried out by simple visual inspection that is time-consuming, resource intensive, and biased by the experience of the panelist. Moreover, there is not a standard scale to rate visual quality traits of canned beans. In this research, a machine vision system was implemented and tested for automatic inspection of color (COL) and appearance (APP) in canned black beans. Various color and textural image features (average, standard deviation, contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeneity from red, green, blue, lightness, red/green, yellow/blue, hue, saturation and value color scales) were extracted from beans and brine images, and evaluated to predict the quality rates for COL and APP of a group of bean panelists using multivariate statistics. Sixty-nine commercial canned black bean samples from different brands and markets were used for analysis. In spite of the “fair” agreement among the sensory panelists for COL and APP, as determined by multi-rater Kappa analysis, machine vision data based on partial least squares regression model showed high predictive performance for both COL and APP with correlation coefficients of 0.937 and 0.871, and standard errors of 0.26 and 0.38, respectively. When a classification was performed based on both COL and APP traits, a support vector machine model was able to sort the samples into two sensory quality categories of “acceptable” and “unacceptable” with an accuracy of 89.7%. Using simple color and texture image data, a machine vision system showed potential for the automatic evaluation of canned black beans by COL and/or appearance as a professional visual inspection.     

Effect of natural and controlled fermentation on flatus‐producing compounds of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Fermentation of grain legumes is an efficient method to reduce the concentration of α‐galactosidic compounds that are known to be flatulence producers. Soluble dietary fibre has also been implicated in flatulence production; however, little information exists about the effectiveness of fermentation in diminishing the effects of these compounds. The objective of this work was to study the effect of natural fermentation (NF) and controlled fermentation (CF) on the content of α‐galactosides and dietary fibre in dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. After 48 h, the pH during NF dropped from 6.15 to 4.00 and the nominal acidity increased six times; for CF, however, although the decrease in pH was similar to that for NF, the nominal acidity increased only three times after 48 h. Insoluble fibre content did not change the pH significantly after 96 h for NF and CF. Soluble fibre suffered an apparent removal after 48 h of NF and underwent a sharp reduction of 66% after 96 h of CF. The concentration of stachyose (the main α‐galactoside in raw beans) diminished notably after 48 h and 96 h NF (72% and 95% respectively), whereas with CF only 11% was removed after 96 h. NF of P vulgaris seems to be more effective than CF in reducing the flatulence‐producer factors (α‐galactosides and soluble dietary fibre). Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Proteins isolated from Ganxet common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landrace: techno-functional and antioxidant properties

Ganxet protein isolates (GPI) were assessed for antioxidant and functional properties including emulsifying and foaming capacity. The protein content and water activity (a_w) value of GPI were 91.08 ± 4.15% and 0.248 ± 0.008%, respectively. The oil- and water-holding capacities of GPI were calculated as 2.76 ± 0.33 and 1.25 ± 0.11 g g⁻¹ of GPI, respectively (P < 0.05). Foaming and emulsifying properties were found to be pH-dependent (P < 0.05). The highest foaming capacity values were observed at pH 8.0 and 10.0 and were calculated as 86.25 ± 5.30% and 78.75 ± 1.77%, respectively. In addition, the generated emulsions were found to be stable, especially at pH 8.0 and 10.0 with emulsion stability values of 94.1 ± 0.0 and 93.9 ± 0.1, respectively (P < 0.05). Results obtained in the current study demonstrate the potential applications of Ganxet-derived proteins as techno-functional ingredients for the development of novel foods.     

Thermal inactivation kinetics of peroxidase and lipoxygenase from fresh pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

 Thermal inactivation kinetics of crude peroxidase (POX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) in fresh pinto beans were studied over the temperature range of 55–90°C. The inactivation of both enzymes followed first-order kinetics. The biphasic inactivation curves for POX indicate the existence of several isoenzymes of varying heat stability. In the temperature range of 55–70°C, the activation energies (E _a) of POX were 46.5 kcal·mol^–1 for the heat-labile portion and 37.6 kcal·mol^–1 for the heat-stable portion. On the other hand, the LOX enzyme had an E _a value of 42.26 kcal·mol^–1 at 55–75°C and 49.1 kcal·mol^–1 at 55–90°C. Received: 28 July 1997 / Revised version: 16 October 1997     

Influence of the stage of ripeness of plantains and some cooking bananas on the sensory and physicochemical characteristics of processed products

The influence of the stage of ripening of the fruit of cultivars of plantain (French Sombre) and some cooking bananas (Dwarf Kalapua and Bluggoe) on the sensory and physico‐chemical characteristics of processed products was evaluated. Chips made from these cultivars at corresponding stages of ripeness had water contents less than 20 g kg^?1 for fruits at stages 1 and 3 and less than 60 g kg^?1 for those at stages 4 and 5. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the ash contents of chips at different stages of ripeness for all the cultivars. Protein contents increased with increasing ripeness for all the cultivars; the fat contents decreased with increasing ripeness and varied from one cultivar to another. The available food energy was more than 4840 kcal kg^?1 of chips for all the cultivars at all stages of ripeness. The best chips were obtained from fruits at stages 1 and 3. Flours obtained from the fruits of these cultivars at different stages of ripeness had water contents lower than 60 g kg^?1. The fat, ash and protein contents were low, while the carbohydrate contents were high. For all the cultivars the yields of chips and flour were higher for the plantain cultivar (French Sombre) than for the cooking banana cultivars, irrespective of the stage of ripeness of the fruits. Cakes made from the different flours had good nutritional quality. The cakes and chips submitted for sensory evaluation were all accepted by consumers, although to differing extents. Fruits at stages 1 and 3 of ripeness which presented fewer problems during drying were the most suitable for the manufacture of flour for making cakes. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Projective mapping: A tool for sensory analysis and consumer research

Studies have indicated that profiling and (dis)similarity scaling yield different perceptual product maps. Conceptually, these two procedures are different. This paper looks at a third and alternative method of producing a two-dimensional, perceptual map utilizing a projective-type method whereby individual assessors themselves are required to place products on the space according to the similarities and differences they perceive. However, visual comparison of the final results provided by each assessor is difficult and, hence, generalized Procrustes analysis is applied to compare each assessor's map for similarity with the others. In this study it was found that the perceptual map derived from projective mapping was as similar to the map derived from profiling as from dissimilarity scaling. However, consistency over repeated trials was greater for projective mapping than for the other two methods. It is suggested that projective mapping could be a potentially useful technique for linking sensory analysis and consumer research data.     

Chemical basis for the low sensory perception of the Ganxet bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seed coat

The Ganxet bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L), highly appreciated in Catalan gastronomy, has a higher proportion of seed coat than other beans (eg White Kidney or Faba Asturiana); however, general diners and sensory tests point out a lower perception of this seed coat. The differences in chemical composition between Ganxet, White Kidney and Faba Asturiana beans, before and after cooking, were established and related to perceived sensory differences in seed coat content. Ganxet's higher absolute and percentage losses of total dietary fibre (19.5%), soluble dietary fibre (32.5%), cellulose (25.6%) and pectins (38.1%) break down the consistency of the seed coat during cooking, which would explain its low sensory perception. The high loss of cellulose during cooking could be due to its partial combination with proteins, which would aid its breakdown. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry