RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF DRIED BEANS AND THEIR TEXTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AFTER PROCESSING

Baked beans in brine and in tomato sauce were prepared using samples from six different uarieties of bean. The dry unprocessed-beans were tested by means of compression and puncture, shearing, back extrusion and compression tests, as well as to sensory evaluation of texture. For canned beans in brine, the maximum forces for compression and back extrusion were found to be linearly dependent on the maximum force for compression of the dry beans. In the case of beans canned in tomato sauce, only the maximum force for back extrusion exhibited linear dependence. When tomato sauce was used, some softening was observed. The maximum force for back extrusion was correlated to sensory firmness, and the energy for back extrusion to sensory chewiness.