Techno-Functional and Rheological Properties of Alternative Plant-Based Flours

The use of alternative vegetal sources is a proposed strategy to improve the diversity and quality of plant-based products on the market, currently led by soy and pea. This study compares the techno-functional properties of seven vegetable flours (chickpea, lentil, red lentil, white bean, quinoa, amaranth, and oat) and the rheological properties of their flour pastes and gels. All techno-functional properties significantly (α = 0.05) varied depending on the type of flour. Among the flours studied, the highest swelling capacity was for white bean and the lowest for chickpea and red lentil. Water holding capacity was high for white bean and oat flours and low for red lentil. Oat and quinoa flours had the highest oil-holding capacity. Emulsifying and foaming capacities were high for all pulse flours but poor for amaranth and oat flours. However, amaranth and oat provided a much higher viscosity during heating than the rest of the flours. The viscoelastic properties of the flour pastes indicated that they all had a gel structure with storage modulus (G') values over loss modulus (G″) values. From the viscoelastic properties, amaranth and quinoa showed a weak gel structure with low G' and G″ values, and the chickpea, lentil, and red lentil formed pastes with a high elastic contribution (high G' values). In agreement, these three pulse flours were the only ones able to form hard, self-standing gels. These results show the potential of vegetal flours from alternative sources in the development of new plant-based products.