Effects of Salts Added After Cooking on the Texture of Canned Snap Beans

Soaking bean pods in NaCl solutions caused decreases in firmness and increases in Ca ++ solubilization as the NaCl concentration increased. CaCl 2 soak solutions increased firmness of pods previously softened by soaking in KCl solutions. Chlorides of Na + , K + , Li + , NH 4 + , and Mg ++ , and Na acetate caused softening. LiCl caused the most softening, while MgCl 2 caused the greatest solubilization of Ca ++ . Salt‐induced softening was accompanied by Ca ++ displacement. Firmness of salt‐softened pods was further decreased by subsequent removal of the salt, indicating an electrostatic component as a minor factor in pod texture.