Key Points
- Beans and peas contain “antinutrients” that are hard to digest, and current heating methods are inefficient.
- Researchers are using radio frequency (RF) waves, similar to microwaves, to heat the beans.
- The RF waves selectively heat the water inside the beans, making them more porous and easier to digest.
- The new method destroyed 81% of a key antinutrient and was much faster than traditional heating.
Beans, peas, and other legumes are great for us, but they have a defense mechanism. To stop animals from eating them, they contain “antinutrients” that make them hard to digest. While cooking breaks these compounds down, the big ovens used by food companies are often inefficient, burning the outside while leaving the inside undercooked.
The paper is published in the journal Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies; researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have found a better way: using radio frequency (RF) waves, a technology that works similarly to a microwave oven. A Ph.D. student on the team, Tolen Moirangthem, explained that just like a microwave heats the water in your food but not the cup, RF waves heat the water inside a pea without overheating the rest of it.
This “selective heating” is much faster and more effective than traditional methods. It only takes a few minutes, and it appears to preserve more of the beneficial nutrients in the beans while eliminating the undesirable ones.
The team believed that when the water inside the beans turned to steam, it would create tiny explosions, making the beans more porous. To test this, they used a powerful imaging tool at the Canadian Light Source. The images confirmed their theory: the RF-treated beans had more pores. The new method also destroyed 81% of one of the main antinutrients.
Moirangthem says this project has “big potential” to help create more sustainable and affordable plant-based protein to feed the world. This new technique could make beans and peas not only more environmentally friendly to process but also much easier on our stomachs.
