Evaluation of puffing quality of Australian desi chickpeas by different physical attributes

- Twelve Australian desi chickpea genotypes were examined for puffing ability.
- Five genotypes had acceptable puffing yield.
- A new calculation of expansion volume has been proposed where puffing yield is low.
- Storage temperature of 25 °C gives better puffing yield than storage at 7.5 °C.

Puffing involves roasting grains or legumes in hot sand without oil for a short time resulting in a popped type of healthy snack food. The aim of the present study was to understand the range of puffing ability of Australian desi chickpea genotypes. Calculations for puffing yield, expansion volume and puff size from the literature were applied to our samples. In addition, it was necessary to develop a new formula to measure the ratio of seed expansion without bias from puffing yield to compare the performance of our samples. This was necessary because their puffing yields were generally low relative to more established puffed products such as popcorn. Kyabra was identified as a superior puffing genotype (52% seeds puffed and 0.67-2.09 mL/g expansion volume), whilst Line 4 had the greatest seed expansion (0.62 mL/seed at 25 °C), but with a low puffing yield (7-11%). Storage temperature was investigated and cooler storage was found to generally hinder the puffing yield of chickpea. Australian chickpeas were found to have a range of puffing performance, which suggests that potential exists within the genetic pool to improve both the puffing yield and the expansion volume of seeds for this snack food market.