Physical and cooking characteristics of some Indian kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars

Pulses are an essential component of our diet especially in developing world, information on their physical properties is needed for designing the machines, while cooking quality is important for consumer acceptance. Four kidney bean cultivars were evaluated for their composition, physical, cooking and textural properties. Protein, ash and carbohydrate contents varied significantly (P ⩽ 0.05) in the range of 22.3-26.7%, 3.5-3.8% and 62.1-65.9%, respectively. Physical properties determined at 10.0% moisture revealed that the length, breadth, thickness and equivalent diameter of seeds varied significantly in the range of 11.45-16.45 mm, 6.65-7.00 mm, 4.70-6.13 mm and 7.31-9.24 mm, respectively. Bulk density varied from 0.78 to 0.81 g/mL and angle of repose from 15.20° to 18.67°. Hydration capacity and swelling capacity of the seeds varied significantly in the range of 0.12-0.42 g/seed and 0.09-0.28 mL/seed, respectively. Cooking time of unsoaked seeds differed significantly from 68.67 to 86.67 min. Soaking of seeds reduced cooking time by 15.33-30.67 min.