Identifier

etd-05192016-193017

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The use of beans in the human diet provides an excellent source of dietary fiber and has potential for lowering glycemic load. Prepared meals with high levels of dietary fiber and low glycemic loads were found to be rare in a market survey of nine stores with various price points in the greater Baton Rouge area. The majority of the prepared meals found fell into low or medium fiber categories with medium to high glycemic loads. This indicates a need to increase the fiber level and decrease the glycemic load in popular foods. The purpose of this research is to accomplish these changes in prepared meals by substituting a portion of the standard pasta flour with bean flour. Various mixtures of pinto bean, navy bean, black bean, enriched semolina, and “00” flours (a high-gluten red spring wheat flour) were tested using a standard Rapid Visco Analysis method and the visco-elastic properties were compared with the control flour. The addition of navy bean four to the control flour was found to produce a composite flour with a similar texture at 25%, 30%, and 50% substitution levels. A calculated proximate analysis was performed on three ravioli produced: a control, a 50%, and a 75% navy bean ravioli. A 14% DV and a 21% DV increase in dietary fiber were predicted for the 50% and 75% navy bean ravioli, respectively. A seven and a ten gram decrease in glycemic load were predicted for the 50% and the 75% navy bean ravioli. The three ravioli types were also subjected to a sensory study with 103 participants. It was found that the color, texture, aroma, appearance, and liking preferences were not significantly changed by the substitution of navy bean flour at a 50% substitution level (α = 0.05). These characteristics of commercially available frozen pasta meals were also measured with a blind consumer survey of consumers ages 65 and older. The predominant unsatisfactory characteristics found were texture and color. In comparison, the texture and color were not significantly altered by the 50% substitution of navy bean flour in the ravioli sensory study.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

King, Joan

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2707

Included in

Life Sciences Commons

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