Legumes are valuable sources of proteins and other functional components. However, the high starch content can be an impediment in developing new vegan food formulations. Enzyme-assisted hydrolysis was used to hydrolyze the starch from chickpea and broad bean vegetable milk to further develop vegetable lactic acid-fermented products. The antioxidant activity of legumes was tested, and it was observed that the overall antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging ability) significantly increased after enzyme-assisted hydrolysis while total phenols content decreased. The obtained vegetable milk was then fermented using exopolysaccharides-producing lactic acid bacteria. A significant decolorization was observed after fermentation in the case of broad bean-based products. Rheological behavior of the fermented products was determined using small amplitude oscillatory measurements and the three-interval thixotropy test. Results showed higher complex viscosity values for broad bean-based products, which displayed a weak gel-like structure. The starter cultures used for vegetable milk samples fermentation influenced the resistance to flow.

Common cereal processing through germination and fermentation usually has an important impact on the technological performance of the flours, mainly because of the activation of endogenous enzymes acting on macromolecules. The aim of the present study is to estimate the effect of germination and fermentation, using a mixture of Lactobacillus casei and Kluyveromyces marxianus subsp. marxianus, on the rheological properties of different wheat and triticale varieties. Moreover, the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the white wheat flour-based dough, including germinated grain flour or sourdough was also tested. Grains germination and sourdough fermentation exerted a high influence on the rheological behaviour of the flour-based suspensions. Germination affected the structure and stability of the suspensions, resulting in samples with viscous behaviour prevailing over the elastic one. The temperature ramp tests revealed that germination together with fermentation lead to higher resistance to temperature changes. In agreement with the results of the rheological investigations on rheometer, the Mixolab test performed on flour obtained from germinated grains revealed lower dough stability and protein weakening at temperature increase. On the other hand, a significant improvement of the pasting properties of the dough was obtained when adding sourdoughs to the wheat flour.

The impact of replacing the sunflower oil in a typical muffin formulation with different protein-based emulsions was investigated. Fundamental rheological measurements indicated significant differences between emulsions prepared with soy, lupin, and yeast proteins. The highest viscosity of 2.04 Pa·s was registered for the lupin protein-based emulsion, whereas the yeast protein-based emulsion exhibited the narrowest linear viscoelastic region. The influence of the protein-based emulsions on the thermo-mechanical properties of wheat flour dough was further investigated using the Mixolab device and Chopin+ protocol. Oil substitution with emulsion resulted in better starch gelatinization with the C3 torque of 0.46 Nm being registered for doughs with soy and lupin protein emulsions. Significant differences in terms of moisture, color, porosity, and texture were observed between muffins prepared with protein-based emulsions and control. The lower fat baked products retained higher amounts of water (25.05–26.00%) and exhibited slightly more vivid color (color intensity of 46.34–46.81) and harder texture (firmness of 5.64–5.86 N). The sensory analysis confirmed that soy, lupin, and yeast protein emulsions can be used for obtaining muffin samples with acceptable taste and flavor, and overall quality comparable to the control. These results indicate that the protein based-emulsions are promising oil replacers in muffin formulations.

Small berries are rich sources of bioactive compounds, acknowledged for a wide variety of biological activities. The health benefits of these berries are primarily attributed to phenolic compounds, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins, owing to their good antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and neuro- and cardioprotective properties. In order to compensate for the lack of fresh fruit availability throughout the year, berries are usually processed to obtain various final products. Depending on the processing condition, the nutritional and functional profile of the berries might be affected. The present review focuses on the bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity that contribute to the health-related properties of berries and on the effects of the conventional and alternative thermal and non-thermal techniques employed for processing berries into final products. The literature suggests that, regardless of the processing method, incorporating berries into the daily diet offers protective and preventive benefits against various diseases.

Starch and plant or animal proteins represent a rich source that can be used for fortifying meat products. The present study aimed to analyze how the different additives used (soy protein isolate, chickpea flour, lupine concentrate, sodium caseinate and starch, in 2% concentration) influence the rheological properties of beef emulsions and gels, cooking losses and the texture of the finished products. Rheological parameters G’ (storage modulus), G* (complex modulus) and Delta angle were determined by increasing the temperature from 5 to 70 °C, with a rate of 1 °C/min. The study highlighted that the addition of vegetable proteins (soy, chickpeas and lupine) improved strength of meat gels (G’ > 1057.8 Pa), while the addition of sodium caseinate and starch reduced the consistency of the gel network structure (G’ < 1057.8 Pa). All additions led to a decrease in heat treatment losses (a reduction of maximum 62% of cooking loss, from 11.89% for control to 4.54% in case of samples with added starch) and the hardness of heat-treated products. The maximum reduction of hardness was observed for samples with added starch, from 2.83 kgf to 1.08 kgf.