Evaluation of cooking time and impact of retort processing, packaging material, and calcium chloride additive on pulse (Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus, and Cicer arietinum) quality attributes

Authors: THOMAS, LAUREN - Michigan State University; Cichy, Karen; SWADA, JEFFERY - Michigan State University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Processing and Preservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/13/2025
Publication Date: 8/11/2025
Citation: Thomas, L., Cichy, K.A., Swada, J. 2025. Evaluation of cooking time and impact of retort processing, packaging material, and calcium chloride additive on pulse (Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus, and Cicer arietinum) quality attributes. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. article 1164668. https://doi.org/10.1155/jfpp/1164668.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/jfpp/1164668

Interpretive Summary: Dry beans and chickpeas have long cooking times which limit their use by consumers. While canned pulses are a convenient and popular alternative to dry pulses, they are often negatively perceived by consumers because of their taste, appearance, and content of sodium and other preservatives. There is an opportunity to improve the appeal of canned pulses by using different packaging, reducing the use of preservatives, and offering diverse, attractive bean classes. The goal of this research was to evaluate multiple standard and specialty classes of dry beans and chickpeas in retort processing of glass jars, aluminum cans, and plastic pouches, with and without the common preservative, calcium chloride. Texture and color were two important variables studied to assess end-product quality. Calcium chloride added to the brine increased the firmness of the beans improved the clarity of the brine. It was easier to achieve acceptable bean texture in the cans and glass jars, whereas in the pouches the beans were more likely to be too firm. This is likely due to the shorter retort processing time needed for plastic pouches. The beans in pouches also tended to be more susceptible to darkening. Some bean market classes had good quality in glass jars and plastic pouches, even without the addition of calcium chloride, especially the yellow and chickpea. Therefore, as new bean products are developed with retort processing, these may be robust bean classes to test commercially.

Technical Abstract: Dry beans (pulses) offer many benefits yet are often undervalued. There are many barriers preventing consumers from selecting pulses, including poor perceptions of ready-to-eat (RTE) options. Retort processing, which produces commercially sterile and shelf-stable food products, has been previously evaluated on bean varieties processed within metal cans and plastic pouches, but not within glass jars. The goal of this research was to understand differences in cooking time measured via Mattson cooker, followed by how packaging material, bean variety, and use of calcium chloride additive impacted various retort processed quality attributes, including hydration coefficient (HC), washed-drained coefficient (WDC), texture, color attributes (L*, Chroma, Hue Angle), brine viscosity, and brine clarity. Glass jars required the longest processing time at 250 F/121.1 C (14 minutes), while metal cans and plastic pouches had shorter processing times (6 minutes). There were significant (p < 0.001) variations in cooking times across variety. Variety and Packaging significantly impacted (p < 0.001) all measured quality attributes, while calcium chloride independently impacted texture and brine viscosity, resulting in a moderate negative correlation (r = - 0.60) due to seedcoat splitting. Bean texture was negatively correlated (r = -0.60) with Bean L*, indicating that darker colored beans generally have firmer textures due to increased content of phenolic compounds, contributing to more opaque brine clarity (r = - 0.64). Calcium chloride generally resulted in higher quality products due to firmer texture and reduced brine viscosity, and quality attributes were the most variable in pulses processed within plastic pouches. Variation in attributes across different bean varieties was expected given variation in cooking time but provided additional insight on what varieties are better suited for processing. This study provides a comparison of pulse retort processing protocols for metal cans, plastic pouches, and glass jars, and the generated quality attribute data introduces possible product innovation opportunities.