Effects of high-pressure homogenization on the rheological properties of spray-dried aquafaba powder

摘要

Aquafaba, the water obtained from chickpea cooking, has gained interest as a novelfood foaming, emulsifying, or gelling agent. Applying proper unit operations to manufactureaquafaba powder with a longer shelf-life and improved functional propertiesthan liquid aquafaba may further extend its usage in the food industry. In this study,spray drying of aquafaba was optimized, and high-pressure homogenization was usedto improve the rheological properties of the reconstituted powder. The spray dryingexperiments at different inlet air temperatures (130, 150, and 170℃), feed rates (4, 6,and 8 mL/min), and aspiration rates (80, 90, and 100 m3/h) were conducted. Spray dryingat 170℃ inlet air temperature, 4 mL/min feed rate, and 92 m~3/h aspiration ratewas selected as the optimal process resulting in the highest product yield (46.34± 1.23), protein (19.96 ± .29 d.b.), and saponin (96.47 ± 6.11 mg/g d.b.) contents,and minimum moisture level (3.21 ± .14 d.b.). High-pressure homogenization treatmentsat different pressure levels (80, 100, and 120 Mpa) and the number of passes(2 and 4) were then applied to the solutions prepared from aquafaba powders at theleast gelling concentration (20 w/v). The number of passes did not have any significant(p > 0.05) effect on the rheological properties, while homogenization at 120 Mparesulted in the highest viscosity (938.5 × 10~3 Pa s). The aquafaba gels obtained fromhomogenized solutions had storage modulus values of 7–9 times the loss modulus. Thelow-frequency dependence of the viscoelastic properties was also determined. Highpressurehomogenization at increased pressure values and a low number of passes maybe considered an optional tool for developing strong gels from aquafaba.