Functional Properties of Thermally Processed Legume and Cereal Flours
Summary
Thermal processing of legume and cereal flours profoundly alters their functional attributes, shaping their suitability for diverse food applications. Heat treatments such as roasting, infrared irradiation and conventional cooking drive structural modifications in starch and protein matrices, influencing water and oil binding, pasting behaviour, gel formation and textural stability. These changes underpin the design of gluten-free bakery goods, plant-based meat analogues, infant weaning formulations and value-added cereals. Globally, optimising processing parameters enhances nutrient bioavailability, reduces antinutritional factors and tailors rheological properties to meet consumer demands for clean-label, sustainable ingredients. Advances in characterising hydration dynamics, viscoelastic responses and interfacial functionality now guide precision processing, enabling the development of novel products that combine nutritional quality with desirable sensory and processing performance.
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Functional Properties of Thermally Processed Legume and Cereal Flours publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in functional properties of thermally processed legume and cereal flours across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Gelatinisation: The swelling of starch granules and loss of crystalline structure upon heating in the presence of water, leading to increased viscosity.
Retrogradation: The realignment and recrystallisation of gelatinised starch molecules during cooling, affecting gel firmness and texture.
Techno-functional properties: The collective physical and chemical characteristics of flours—such as water holding, oil binding, emulsification and foaming—that determine their performance in food formulations.
Water holding capacity: The ability of flour components to absorb and retain water under specified conditions, influencing product moisture and yield.
Emulsifying capacity: The capability of proteins and polysaccharides in flour to stabilise oil–water mixtures by reducing interfacial tension.
Foaming capacity: The propensity of flour proteins to entrap air and form stable foam structures, important for aerated products.
Viscoelasticity: The combined viscous and elastic response of flour pastes or gels to deformation, reflecting both flow and recovery behaviour.
Infrared treatment: A thermal process using infrared radiation to induce rapid heating and specific structural changes in starch and protein matrices.
References
- Techno-Functional and Rheological Properties of Alternative Plant-Based Flours. Foods (2023).
- Impact of Thermal Treatment on the Starch-Protein Interplay in Red Lentils: Connecting Molecular Features and Rheological Properties. Molecules (2022).
- Generating Multi-Functional Pulse Ingredients for Processed Meat Products—Scientific Evaluation of Infrared-Treated Lentils. Foods (2023).
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