Phytate Content and Its Effect on Cooking Quality of Beans

Storage of dry beans under conditions of relatively high moisture and temperature increased the cooking time of the beans about 5-fold. Among the changes that occur in beans stored in this way, the reduction (about 65%) in phytic acid content was the best indicator of increased cooking time. Cooking times of various legumes studied correlated well with the ratio of % phytic acid/% Ca present in the beans. Soaking high moisture beans in a solution of either phytic acid or EDTA reduced cooking time to that of control beans. Cooking time of control beans soaked under the same conditions was reduced by between 1/3 and 1/2, depending on the solution used.