A novel plant-based milk alternative made from red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): Effects of cultivars on its stability and sensory properties

Abstract

The growing popularity of plant-based milk alternatives has driven the creation of many novel products to meet the consumers’ diverse requirements. Red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an underutilized legume that might be used to develop a novel plant-based milk alternative due to its high protein content and diverse health benefits. It has demonstrated that the stability and sensory properties of plant-based milk were significantly affected by the cultivars of the raw material. The objectives of this study were unique to compare the physicochemical stability and sensory characteristics of plant-based milk from four different red kidney bean varieties grown in China. Furthermore, the possible differential mechanisms were explored by analyzing the rheological properties, protein solubility, surface hydrophobicity, surface tension, and microstructure of red kidney bean milk. The results showed that compared with the other three red kidney bean varieties, Jizhangyun-2 (JZY-2) exhibited excellent physicochemical stability with a lower centrifugal sedimentation rate (8.04%), smaller particle size distribution (2.54 μm), and higher potential (−23.03 mV). Furthermore, the enhanced protein solubility and surface hydrophobicity, as well as the decreased surface tension and aggregation degree of protein in JZY-2 kidney bean milk were deemed to be responsible for the results. The color and sensory analysis also supported that the JZY-2 kidney bean was suitable to prepare a novel plant-based milk alternative.