Immature soybean seeds as a vegetable or snack food: acceptability by American consumers

Abstract

Using American panelists, we examined the palatability of frozen immature soybean seeds (R 6) and freeze-dried soybean snacks (FDSS) prepared from selected immature soybean genotypes ( Hutcheson, NTCPR93-286, NTCPR93-1557 and Honey Brown). The frozen immature soybean seeds were evaluated in comparison with frozen peas [ Pisum sativum (L.) sativum] and lima beans [ Phaseolus lunatus (L.) lunatus], whereas the FDSS prototypes were evaluated based on their appearance and eating quality. Frozen immature soybean seeds were rated favorably compared to other legume products. The overall rank sum indexes (ORSI) for frozen peas, NTCPR93-286, Hutcheson, and lima beans were 4, 10, 10, and 16, respectively. Small ORSI values reflected higher consumer preference. The ORSI of the FDSS products were 13 for Hutcheson, 23 for NTCPR93-286, 24 for NTCPR93-1557, and 26 for Honey Brown. Although Hutcheson and NTCPR93-286 were among the top rated varieties, all FDSS used in this study showed a favorable rating in all attributes of eating quality. The result suggests that American consumers could accept the immature frozen soybean as a vegetable or FDSS.