Protein Denaturation and Starch Gelatinization in Hard-To-Cook Beans.

A study was undertaken to assess protein denaturation and starch gelatinization in ground samples of common black beans exhibiting the hard-to-cook (HTC) defect. Using differential scanning calorimetry, no significant differences in either gelatinization or denaturation temperatures were found between hard and soft beans but tropical storage conditions produced significant increases in gelatinization enthalpy and decreases in denaturation enthalpy. Endotherms of cooked samples showed as little as 34% of the protein had denatured in HTC beans as compared to over 85% in soft beans. Micrographs indicated the ground raw material was composed of clumps of cotyledon cells; cooking soft beans produced cell separation but this did not occur in HTC samples. These data supported the idea that bean hardening was accompanied by limited water availability inside cotyledon cells that could reduce cell swelling, starch gelatinization and protein denaturation, leading to textural toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]