Oxidizing agent‐assisted extrusion cooking of yellow peas and the techno‐functionality of the resulting extrudate flours

To enhance pulse flour techno‐functionality, different oxidizing agents were used during extrusion cooking. Benzoyl peroxide (BP) (45 mg/kg), azodicarbonamide (ADA) (150 mg/kg), and pressurized air (injection pressures of 200 and 400 kPa) were employed at three different extrusion temperature profiles, and their effects on techno‐functional quality of resulting yellow pea (YP) extrudate flours were investigated. Oxidizing agents and extrusion temperature impacted water solubility (WS), water‐binding capacity, emulsion capacity (EC), emulsion stability (ES), and pasting properties of YP extrudate flours. Oxidizing agent effects were extrusion temperature‐dependent. At a die temperature of 95℃, BP and ADA addition significantly increased EC and ES, while air injection at 400 kPa increased WS, ES, cold, and trough viscosities. Manipulation of pulse flour techno‐functionality through oxidizing agent‐assisted extrusion has proven to be an effective approach to manufacture novel ingredients that can be used in a wide variety of foods. Practical applications High protein and fiber content of pulses make them an attractive ingredient for new product development strategies in the food industry. Nevertheless, there can be significant quality challenges when using pulses in food products due to their less than ideal techno‐functional properties which lead to quality defects in reformulated products. Extrusion cooking has been employed to modify pulse flours and to develop pulse‐based ingredients with superior techno‐functionality. The use of oxidizing agents during extrusion cooking can be another means of addressing these techno‐functionality issues, without the need of additional equipment for the industry. In this study, depending on the oxidizer type and extrusion temperature, oxidizing agent‐assisted extrusion cooking has proven to improve several techno‐functional quality attributes of yellow pea flour. The same technology can be employed to improve the techno‐functionality of different pulse flours.