Steam Cooking Pea Flour to Remove Bitter Saponins
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Leguminous materials, such as pea flour, are undesirable in food products due to their undesirable flavors and bitter taste, which are not adequately reduced by existing processing methods for broad consumer acceptance.
Innovation Solution
A method of processing raw leguminous materials involving steam cooking and drying to reduce non-volatile flavor components, specifically targeting proteins with a molecular weight of about 25 kDa or greater and associated bound saponins, resulting in a processed composition with significantly reduced bitterness and characteristic flavors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If steam cooking and drying processing is applied to raw leguminous materials, then non-volatile flavor components and bitterness are reduced, but the processing complexity and time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling steam cooking conditions (temperature, time, pressure) and drying parameters to selectively remove non-volatile flavor components. By optimizing these parameters, the process achieves effective bitterness reduction while managing processing complexity through defined operational ranges.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions during steam cooking (liquid water to vapor) and subsequent drying to facilitate the removal of non-volatile flavor components. The phase change during steam cooking enables effective extraction and removal of problematic compounds while maintaining protein integrity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If steam cooking and drying processing is applied to raw leguminous materials, then non-volatile flavor components are reduced, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes processing time by controlling steam cooking temperature and pressure parameters. By adjusting these parameters, the process achieves effective reduction of non-volatile flavor components within reasonable time frames, balancing quality improvement with processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs continuous steam cooking followed by continuous drying to maintain consistent processing conditions throughout. This continuous approach ensures thorough removal of non-volatile flavor components while minimizing total processing time through uninterrupted operation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If proteins with molecular weight of 25 kDa or greater are removed, then flavor quality improves, but protein content and nutritional value decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selectively removes proteins with molecular weight of 25 kDa or greater through controlled steam cooking and drying, while preserving smaller protein fractions. By controlling processing parameters, the method achieves flavor quality improvement through selective removal of problematic high-molecular-weight proteins without excessive loss of total protein content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the protein population by molecular weight, selectively removing the high-molecular-weight fraction (25 kDa or greater) that contributes to bitterness while retaining the lower-molecular-weight proteins that provide nutritional value. This segmentation approach allows flavor improvement while maintaining protein content.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The processing method achieves a substantial reduction in bitter flavors and characteristic pea flavors, allowing processed leguminous materials to be used similarly to soy or conventional flours in foods and beverages without detectable pea flavor or bitterness.
Implementation Method 1
steam cooking a raw pea slurry to form a cooked pea slurry
Implementation Method 2
drying the cooked pea slurry to form a processed pea composition
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods of processing raw leguminous materials, such as pea flour, pea concentrate, or pea isolate, to reduce non-volatile flavor components and in particular bound saponin compounds. The methods includes select processing steps by steam cooking a raw slurry to form a cooked slurry and drying the cooked slurry to form a processed material. An amount of non-volatile flavor components in the processed material is less than an amount of non-volatile flavor components in the raw materials.