Techno-functional characterization of salad dressing emulsions supplemented with pea, lentil and chickpea flours.

Background: Salad dressings supplemented with pulse flours are novel products. A three-factor face-centered central composite design (CCD) was used to determine the effect of pulse flour concentration (3.5%, 7%, 10.5% w/w), egg yolk concentration (3%, 5%, 7% w/w) and oil concentration (20%, 35%, 50% w/w) on the rheological and color characteristics of salad dressings supplemented with pulse flours.

Results: The consistency coefficient m, plateau modulus G(N)(0), recoverable strain Q(t) and color values were all affected by the concentrations of pulse flours used. Scanning electron microscopy showed that dressings with lower oil and egg yolk contents had a less densely packed network compared with dressings with higher oil and egg yolk contents. Sensory results were most promising for salad dressings supplemented with the whole green lentil, yellow pea with low flour content, and chickpea with high oil content.

Conclusion: This study should be useful for designing novel types of salad dressings to meet market requirements as well as helping to increase pulse consumption.