Preparation and composition of a dry‐milled flour from cowpeas

Abstract

AbstractCowpeas having a smooth, brown, loosely adhering seedcoat (Mississippi Silver Hull Crowder) were milled to a flour by coarsely cracking the dry (12% H2O) peas on a Morehouse Mill, aspirating the seedcoats on a peanut sheller, and reducing the cotyledon fraction to a flour by several passes through the Morehouse Mill. The flour was produced in 88% yield from the starting peas. The proximate composition of resulting flour differed from that of whole peas principally in fiber content (2.5 vs 7.1% ADF), and also contained (dsb) 26% protein, 1.6% fat, 3.3% ash and ∼67% NFE. Seed coat removal also reduced tannin content and effective trypsin inhibitor activity of the flour. The essential amino acid profile of cowpea flour resembled that of soy flour, but was somewhat lower in the limiting sulfur amino acids.