Current pulse and pea consumption in Canada and the US is fairly low, at approximately ½ cup per week (Ipsos Ried – Factors Influencing Pulse Consumption in Canada, February 2010). Taste and convenience were listed by survey participants as some of the top reasons for not consuming more pulses. Many North Americans and Europeans perceive peas having an “off flavour”. A large part of this is the fact that peas have not been a common staple in food products and unusual flavours may be perceived as objectionable. This project is an attempt to address the off flavour issue by examining a new pre-process developed by Buhler AG that has shown to improve nutrition and taste attributes of chickpeas, but has been untested in Canadian grown pulses, such as dry peas. The project will also address consumer’s convenience concerns, by incorporating pea flour into common North American food staples such as baked products, snack products, and noodles/pasta.

The objective of the project is to develop a high quality meat analog with pea protein isolate by high moisture extrusion. We will use a 57 mm twinscrew extruder with an L/D ratio of 24 for protein texturization. A long cooling die will be fabricated and attached to the extruder discharge end to facilitate fibre formation. Preliminary experiments will be performed to optimize ingredient composition and define the limits of processing conditions, on the basis of product appearance, fibre formation, and extrusion stability.

Other proteins and starches will be incorporated in the formulations to enhance fibre formation. The most promising formulation will be used in extrusion experiments to evaluate the effects of feed moisture content and extruder barrel temperature on moisture content, colour, and textural properties of the products. The most successful products from the extrusion experiments will be flavoured at Daiya Foods (industry partner). A whole flavour system will be developed to enhance consumer acceptance of the products. The flavoured products will be subject to in-house sensory evaluation. Appearance, aroma, flavour, and textural aspects of the products will be evaluated. The project is expected to lead to commercial value-added pulse products that benefit Canadian growers and processors by increasing demand for this commodity, and improving their ability to compete in the global marketplace.

The objective of this collaborative project is to investigate inclusion of Canadian pulses in steamed bread applications to develop edible fibre and a fortified product with more rational amino acid compositions for the Chinese market. The specific goals are as follows: Investigate effects of pulse flour with different incorporation levels when mixed with wheat flour and maximize food quality in comparison to original products; and to optimize formulations to process at laboratory level as well as pilot level for two new kinds of Chinese steams bread products, northern and southern type.