The Effect of Coatings and Processing Methods on Dehydrated Precooked Whole Pinto Beans Quality1

Splitting is a major problem in preparing dehydrated precooked beans. To reduce splitting and improve the product quality of precooked pinto beans, three coating treatments and two processing methods were investigated. Beans were blanched, soaked, steam precooked, coated by dipping in a biopolymer solution, and dehydrated in an air‐circulating dryer. Coating beans in a 20% dextrin solution (Lo‐Dex 5, M100, or K4484) reduced 43–85% of butterflying (severe splitting) of beans. Steam precooking at 121C/30 min with soaking at 22C/12 h yielded less butterflying than steam precooking at 100C/1 h with soaking at 30C/2 h and 82 C/1 h after coating and dehydration (≅3% vs 8%). The former resulted in lower firmness after precooking and rehydration of dehydrated beans, whereas the latter gave beans a more mealy texture and better appearance. The rehydration time of dehydrated precooked beans in boiling water to produce an acceptable firmness was 6–9 min, depending on the processing methods. Coating resulted in darker color and slower rehydration of dehydrated beans.