Effects of Seed Moisture Content, Cooking Time, and Chamber Temperature on Nuña Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Popping

Abstract

Nuña beans are a type of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) native to the Andean region of South America that possess the unusual property of popping; however, little is known regarding postharvest environmental effects on popping. Seed of a photoperiod-insensitive, temperate-adapted nuña bean breeding line, ‘PB24’, was produced at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, Arlington, WI, and evaluated in a hot air popper. The experimental design was a factorial with three levels of popping time (60, 90, and 120 s), five levels of chamber temperature (101, 146, 208, 244, and 268 °C), and eight levels of seed moisture (2.5%, 3.2%, 5.2%, 6.6%, 8.3%, 12.0%, 15.3%, and 20%). Percentage of popped seed, sufficiently expanded to shed the seedcoat, was calculated. A curvilinear decrease in popping percentage was observed with increasing seed moisture content. In contrast, a curvilinear increase in popping percentage was observed with increasing chamber temperature and popping time. Larger mean squares were observed for main effects and first-order interactions associated with seed moisture content and chamber temperature compared with popping time. A combination of seed moisture below 5%, popping chamber temperature of 244 °C, and popping time of 90 s resulted in popping percentages greater than 90%.