Innovative Processing Technologies for Legumes and Legume Products—A Review

ABSTRACT

The demand for plant‐based foods to improve food security, reduce malnutrition and promote better health worldwide has increased significantly in recent years. Legumes are a nutrient‐rich, sustainable, less expensive source of plant‐based foods, making them a healthy option for developing new food products. However, their consumption is still limited particularly in many developed countries because of the long processing time and the presence of antinutrients such as lectins, phytases and alkaloids. Several innovative processing technologies can be effectively used to remove or reduce antinutrients as well as developing nutritious, safe and ready‐to‐eat legume‐based products. These technologies include high‐pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric fields (PEF), ohmic heating (OH), ultrasound‐assisted hydration (UAH), radio frequency (RF) heating, ionizing irradiation, cold plasma and ozone treatment for legumes and legume‐based products. When properly optimized, these innovative technologies can improve hydration rate, cooking time, protein extraction, and microbial safety. They may also help to control off‐flavor and better utilization of starch, fiber and other processing side streams, supporting value addition. However, there is no single processing technology suitable for all legumes because their composition, structure and processing behavior vary widely among species and varieties. Therefore, more research is still needed to optimize processing conditions according to the characteristics of each legume, desired products, product quality, energy demand and environmental impact. The main objectives of the review article are to provide a comprehensive discussion on innovative food processing technologies and their application in legume and legume‐based products and quality.