CHAPTER 10: Thermal Processing of Legumes Check Access

Legumes are one of the most nutritious foods in the world and combined with other products are the basis of the diet of a large part of the world's population, especially in developing countries. Since they must be processed before consumption, selection of the thermal method to employ becomes vital to maintain or even increase the potential benefits of legumes. The changes that take place during the thermal treatment of legumes depend not only on the processing carried out but also on the type of seed treated. This chapter presents an overview of the thermal treatments (cooking, roasting, autoclaving, and extrusion) and their effects on the nutritional quality of legumes. In general, thermal processing improves the nutritional value of legumes, decreasing the content of non-nutritional factors, and improving the flavour and the overall acceptability of the legumes prepared. Nevertheless, heat treatments can also destroy some nutritional components of legumes or modify them, or affect their functional and physiological properties, depending on several factors, such as the temperature and time employed. The processing of legumes could enlarge their markets and enhance their utilization by making legumes more convenient and sometimes more nutritionally and functionally efficient.