Spray-drying of chickpea aquafaba with biopolymers: Improving physical and techno-functional properties for meringue...

Chickpea aquafaba can replace eggs, but its industrial handling is challenging. Drying results in highly hygroscopic powders, affecting product quality during storage. To address this, the addition of biopolymeric carriers to aquafaba during spray drying may reduce water adsorption in the product. This study aimed to produce spray-dried chickpea aquafaba using carriers such as maltodextrin (MD), gum Arabic (GA), and their combination (1:1, MD:GA), followed by the characterization of the powders' physical and techno-functional properties. Among the formulations, the use of MD significantly reduced the hygroscopicity of the powder. Powders produced with the MD:GA mixture showed a critical moisture content of 0.042 g water/g dry solids, compared to 0.087 g water/g dry solids for the control, according to the GAB model, indicating good physical stability. The addition of GA improved the emulsifying capacity of the aquafaba powders while reducing their foaming and gelling capacities. In contrast, MD enhanced foaming capacity but did not improve emulsification. As proof of concept, selected powders were incorporated into egg-free meringue formulations, with rheological properties modulated by the addition of low concentration of biopolymeric carriers. Overall, the use of carriers during spray drying chickpea aquafaba improved the physical properties of powders and modulated their techno-functional properties.