Effect of Dehydration Conditions on the Chemical, Physical, and Rehydration Properties of Instant Whole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Azufrado)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dehydration conditions on the chemical, physical, and rehydration properties of instant whole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Azufrado) using a 2 2 factorial design (air temperature: 25°C and 30°C, air velocity: 0.5 m/s and 1.0 m/s). To determine the kinetic parameters, the rehydration data were fitted to three models: Peleg's, First Order, and Sigmoid. The protein, fat, and ash contents of the beans were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by the dehydration conditions. Of the 11 physical properties of the instant whole beans, only water activity and splitting were significantly affected by dehydration conditions (P<0.05), with a range from 0.58 to 0.67 and from 2.90% to 5.87%, respectively. Of the three models tested, the First Order model gave the best fit for rehydration, with no significant differences (P>0.05) between the observed and predicted equilibrium moisture contents of the instant whole beans. Regarding the rehydration kinetics for the instant whole beans, the activation energy values ranged from 23.56 kJ/mol to 30.48 kJ/mol, depending on the dehydration conditions. The dehydration conditions had no significant effect (P>0.05) on the rehydration properties of instant whole beans.