Dados do Trabalho

Título

ROASTED CHICKPEA FLOUR IN GELLED DESSERTS: IMPACT OF SUCROSE AND ROASTING TIME

Introdução

Chickpeas have gained popularity in the plant-based market due to high protein content and functional properties. With the global trend of reducing the consumption of animal-based food products, there is growing interest in developing plant-based alternatives, especially dairy analogues. This study evaluated the potential use of roasted chickpea flour in gelled desserts.

Material e Métodos

The chickpea flour (CF) contained 21.01% protein, 71.03% carbohydrates, and 4.32% lipids on a dry basis. The flour was roasted at 160°C for 15 minutes (CF15) and 20 minutes (CF20). The least gelation concentration (LGC) was determined by preparing gels with 2 to 20% (w/w; flour solids/water). Gel formation was assessed by inverting the tubes containing the samples. For subsequent analysis, gels were prepared by dispersing the flour in distilled water, stirring mechanically (5 minutes/ room temperature), heating (95°C/ 15 minutes), cooling (3°C), and storing for 20 hours before the analyses. For the water holding capacity (WHC), gels with 10% flour solids were centrifuged (1514 x g/ 20 minutes/ 5°C), and the percentage of released water was calculated in relation to initial gel mass. Gel texture parameters hardness and gumminess were evaluated using a TA-XT2® texture analyzer, and the results were compared to a commercial flan. All the analyses were also performed using 10% sucrose (w/w) instead of water (control - CF – S, CF15 – S, and CF20 – S).

Resultados e Discussão

A weak gel formed at 8% flour solids, while 10% produced a strong gel. Adding sucrose decreased the LGC, resulting in weak gels at 6% and 8%. Sucrose increased the WHC (p ≤ 0.05) of CF and CF20. Hardness and gumminess decreased with increased roasting time in samples without sucrose (p ≤ 0.05). Sucrose did not affect the hardness of CF and CF15 gels or the gumminess of CF15 and CF20 gels (p > 0.05). The commercial flan exhibited texture parameters similar to CF20 (p > 0.05). In general, sucrose improved gelation properties by decreasing LGC and increasing WHC.

Conclusão

These results suggest that roasted chickpea flour is a potential ingredient for gelled desserts.