Physical and Chemical Properties of Extruded Pea Product
Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Food technology, St. Liela 2, LV-3002 Jelgava, Latvia; *Correspondence: strauta.liene@gmail.com
Abstract:
Peas (Pisum sativum L.) are a good source of protein, dietary fibre, and certain minerals, thus making them valuable nutrients in human diet. Unfortunately, peas are not commonly used in human diet due to their long cooking time. New products should be manufactured to increase the presence of peas in human diet. In order to make the grey peas easier for people to consume, extrusion cooking was used. Due to varying recipes, different products were obtained. Peas of the variety ‘Bruno’ with and without the addition of wheat and oat flour and egg powder were used in the experiments. Protein, fat and starch content of these products was analysed chemically but their pH, size, hardness, and volume mass was measured using physical methods. The average pH for all the samples was 7.3 ± 0.5, size differences ranged from 5.4 ± 0.4 mm to 10.3 ± 0.5 mm in length and 6.4 ± 0.2 to 11.7 ± 0.8 mm in width. More fat was found in the sample with onion flavour – up to 9.5 ± 0.5 g 100 g-1 – but the least amount of fat was found in the sample without any seasoning – 0.6 ± 0.05 g 100 g-1 on average. The average starch content was 23 ± 2 g 100 g-1, while the highest protein content was discovered in the sample where grains and egg powder had not been added – 26.9 ± 0.2 g 100 g-1, and the lowest – 18.6 ± 0.5g 100 g-1 – in the sample with the largest grain proportion. The samples with the highest volume mass were the ones with added egg powder – 43 ± 2 N and 387 ± 2 g L-1. The obtained results show that the largest and crispiest sample was acquired using only pea flour, and pea and wheat flour mixed in the proportion 1:1.
Key words:
characteristics, extrusion-cooking, peas