The presence of a distinct beany flavour is identified as one of the main obstacles to increase the use of peas as a food ingredient. In a study published in Legume Science by the New Legume Foods team at Linnéuniversitet, the volatile compounds composition in flour made from raw and boiled yellow and gray pea were investigated and compared. Volatile compounds in pea flours were isolated by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS).
A total of 43 volatiles were identified in pea flours, consisting mostly of aldehydes, followed by alkanes, alcohols, ketones, alkenes, furans, terpenes, aromatics, and sulfur-containing compounds. Some volatile compounds that cause the beany flavor, such as 1-octen-3-ol, 2-pentylfuran, and 3,5-octadien-2-one, were found to be significantly reduced after boiling. The composition of volatiles collected from yellow and gray peas was comparable, but boiled yellow pea had a higher abundance of beany flavor as compared to gray pea. Therefore, gray pea is an interesting variety to be explored further as a potential alternative to the well-known yellow pea.
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