The Canadian International Grains Institute has been investigating the use of pulse ingredients as a way to improve nutrition in commercial gluten-free food products, and to add value to Canadian pulse crops.
Currently halfway through its four-year project called “Development of Gluten-Free Products Using Pulse Ingredients,” Cigi has incorporated pulses in tortillas, pan breads and most recently, crackers. Other upcoming products include pasta and noodles.
Gluten-free foods are usually high in starch mainly from the use of rice and tapioca, ingredients that are also low in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, says Heather Hill, project manager of pulse flour milling and and food applications.
Read Also
Agronomists share tips for evaluating new crop products and tech: Pt. 3
With new products, new production practices and new technology converging on the agriculture industry at a frenetic pace in recent…
Since the project began, Cigi has been in contact with commercial gluten-free processors to gain insight into any production issues and requirements, Hill says. Processors are open to including healthy ingredients such as pulses to increase nutritional levels but are concerned about taste and functionality of the final products. Feedback from a survey of gluten-free consumers also indicated that flavour and nutrition are of prime importance.
Hill says Cigi has evaluated gluten-free domestic products and ingredients to help determine quality targets and formulations for the inclusion of pulses. “We evaluated ingredients for bread and then developed a gluten-free product with 30 per cent and 50 per cent pulse flours. We found that fababean flour worked very well for high-quality colour and crumb structure comparable to the gluten-free control or even better.”
Most recently, three different pulse crackers were developed and evaluated against a control cracker sample made from ingredients commonly found in a selection of commercially available gluten-free crackers. Cigi found that when the industry standards (i.e. corn starch and rice flour) were used as the main ingredients, the control cracker was low in nutritional quality.
Pulses technologist Gina Boux says crackers are a practical choice for gluten-free product development with pulses.
“For crackers you don’t need the gluten strength that you would typically need for pan bread or even tortillas or pitas, and it is easier to experiment with more savoury ingredients.”
Lentil/pea/bean blend
For the pulse crackers, pea fibre and three 50-50 blends of pulse flours were used: whole yellow pea and split red lentil, whole yellow pea and precooked navy bean, and split red lentil and precooked navy bean. To produce the crackers, the pulse ingredients were combined with the gluten-free ingredients used for the control sample. These included brown and white rice flour, corn and potato starch, and corn flour in addition to egg powder, vegetable shortening and salt.
Although there is some concern that pulse ingredients may introduce strong or undesirable flavours, blending pulse flours appears to limit specific pea or bean flavours or the perception of such flavours, she says.
The addition of pulse flours and pea fibre resulted in crackers that were firmer and thicker than the gluten-free control, although firmness decreased after seven days. Crackers made with yellow pea and precooked navy bean had the best texture, producing the thinnest cracker, and those made with yellow pea and red lentil flour had the most desirable flavour.
“We typically use yellow pea in our formulations because we grow them the most in Canada and are trying to add value to the crop while red lentil, which gives a nice peppery flavour, is also a common pulse type grown in Canada,” Boux says.
All the pulse crackers had an increased nutritional profile, especially in fibre content, and tasted better than the control cracker although there are some challenges with cracker texture, she says. “The biggest thing when developing these products on a lab scale is achieving the flavour. If they taste good and nutritional content is improved, that’s a great start. Then a commercial processor can steer you in the right direction on improving the texture.”
