Give it five years and split peas, not goji berries and hybrid cars, will be gracing the cover of our lifestyle magazines, according to the marketers responsible for spreading the word about Canada's pulse crops.
Thanks to some nifty nodules on their roots that 'fix' nitrogen from the air peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas effectively create their own fertiliser an environmentally friendly, as well as commercially attractive, quality given the volatility of nitrogen fertiliser prices, notes Peter Watts, director of market innovation at trade body Pulse Canada.
Combine this with their ability to use water more efficiently than other crops, and pulses blow rival protein sources out of the water in the sustainability stakes and could really come into their own if carbon footprint labelling becomes mainstream, he says. Give it a decade and they could also give cereal crops a run for their money as a source of flour, fibre and starch.
On the nutritional front, meanwhile, pulses also have some pretty impressive credentials. Virtually fat free, they are also low-glycaemic index (low-GI), gluten free, high in protein, fibre, iron and folate, and increasingly cited as important weapons in the battle against heart disease, type II diabetes and obesity. (They are also somewhat cheaper than goji berries.)
So, sitting on such a goldmine like this, why aren't Canada's pulse growers laughing all the way to the bank?
Lots of reasons, says Watts, but one of the biggest is convenience or rather the lack of it. If consumers are looking for a quick and easy meal after a long day at work, they are unlikely to find a solution in a packet of dry beans.
Likewise, while pulse fractions have real potential, surprisingly few food manufacturers know what to do with them and even those prepared to experiment with bean flour or pea starch will not switch from trusted ingredients (soy, wheat, corn) without a good reason.
Convenience is key
Work is however continuing apace both to make pulses more convenient and to investigate the functionality of pulse fractions in food and drink applications, says Dr Jay Han at the Leduc Food Processing Development Centre in Alberta. "We've been working on a new quick-cooking technique that pre-cooks beans and chickpeas in a pressure cooker and then cools them down in a controlled manner. There has been a lot of commercial interest."
Meanwhile, Infra Ready Products, which partially pre-cooks pulses while preserving their nutrients with infra-red (the water molecules heat up, vibrate and turn into steam) is also expanding fast, says president Mark Picard. "Our peas don't need pre-soaking and cook in 3045 minutes. By 'bumping' [flattening the pulses], we can further reduce cooking time to 1530 minutes."
Pre-cooked pulses absorb more water, more quickly, and by inactivating enzymes and reducing microbial counts, also come with increased stability, says Picard, who has expanded his manufacturing facility this year to meet growing demand. The micronisation process described above also eliminates many of the undesirable flavours and textures in pulses.
As for pulse fractions, tests on their water holding capacity, fat absorption, protein solubility, flavour, emulsifying and foaming qualities and rheology are ongoing and applications work is well developed in muffins, extruded snacks, drinks and meat analogues, says Dr Joyce Boye at the Food Research & Development Centre at Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec. Many manufacturers are experimenting with lentil flour, pea fibre and chickpea flour in salad dressings, pastas and tortillas, while others have partially replaced wheat flour in pasta with lentil or chickpea flour (at up to 40%), she says.
"We've also tested pulse fibres and proteins in yogurts, and they did not inhibit culture growth, so there are lots of opportunities in this market as well. We've barely scratched the surface."
Pea protein can also be used to create a novel meat analogue, says Dr Xiangfeng Meng at the government-backed food science and technology program in Brooks, Alberta, although it could be some time before this hits the market.
In Europe, pea fibre and protein are more established in food applications although the functionality of pea starch is less understood, says Bruno Gehin at Roquette. However, application work is continuing in several potentially exciting areas from replacing modified cornstarch in batters and coatings to coating chewing gum: "Pea starch has a gelling capacity at a low temperature, which is very interesting in meat products. It also has a film-formation capacity that is particularly relevant in confectionery and coatings. Its gelling properties are also relevant for manufacturing Asian noodles and in processed foods."
Pea protein, which Roquette sells under the Nutralys brand, is competitively priced with non-genetically-modified soy, and not listed as an allergen in the EU, he points out. It is also extracted on a commercial scale without using chemical solvents or other chemicals. As Nutralys is spray-dried, it also has good flow properties, "making lecithin or the other additives and flow agents used in milk and soya protein or other pea proteins unnecessary. It is also very easily dispersed, with reduced dust and foam formation, making it easy to use in manufacturing environments"
Pea fibre, meanwhile, is used for fibre enrichment in baking, where its neutral taste and white colour make it particularly appealing in white bread, he says. But the big volumes are in processed meats where its water holding characteristics help drive yields and boost succulence. "It binds water at cold temperature during the process, but unlike other insoluble fibres, it also has some emulsifying and gelling capacities."
One obvious areas for development is gluten free, says Jerry Bigam, boss of gluten-, dairy- and nut-free bakery Kinnikinnick Foods. The firm, which has a whopping 5060% share of the Canadian gluten-free bakery market, is growing at 25% year-on-year, and has been using yellow pea protein, fibre and starch widely in its products with rice, tapioca and potato-based ingredients. However, flours have been more of a challenge, says Bigam. "Beanflour works well in some breads but you can smell the fermentation before it is even out of the door. Some pulse flours also have a flavour, which can be an issue. But we are experimenting again with chickpea flour in various products at the moment."
Higher yields
For farmers, the exciting thing about pulse crops is that not only do they fix nitrogen from the air reducing costs, they also boost yields of cereal crops grown after them in rotation, partly because of residual nitrogen left in the soil and partly due to other factors researchers are currently trying to determine, says Sheri Strydhorst, executive director at the Alberta Pulse Growers' Commission.
However, the high percentage that are exported means growers are at the whim of the global commodity markets when it comes to prices, she says. "If the Indian crop is fantastic, that will mean prices will drop, for example. But you can't predict things like this year to year, so we need to develop sustainable markets and supply chains for value-added products based on pulses and pulse fractions to reduce volatility in the market and secure consistent markets for our crops.
"Currently only a tiny percentage of the Canadian pulse crop is manufactured into fractions, for example, so we still have a huge amount of work to do."
Health benefits
The health benefits of pulses are being scrutinised in scores of clinical trials exploring everything from satiety to blood vessel elasticity. However, more studies are needed to substantiate hard health claims.
• Weight management - Pulses are low fat but satiating as they are high in fibre and protein
• Heart health - Pulse proteins reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol while flavonoids in peas and beans are also claimed to have beneficial effects on blood pressure and blood vessel function
• Type II diabetes - Pulses are low Gi, so help keep blood sugar under control
• Gut health - Pulses contain prebiotic fibres, which stimulate the growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the gut
Pea butter
It’s almost too good to be true. Pea butter looks, smells and tastes like peanut butter, but is completely nut free, and contains considerably less fat. Developed by Mountain Meadows, the butter is a simple combination of brown pea flour, canola oil, icing sugar and a stabiliser, and also serves as an ideal substitute for peanut butter in cookies, flapjacks, brownies and chocolate confectionery as well as something to spread on your toast in the mornings. Meanwhile, the pea flour Mountain Meadows mills to make the butter also serves as an ideal gluten-free substitute for wheat bread crumbs, flours and fibres in a range of products from sausages to gluten free Asian sauces, adding a nice nutty flavour