Protein content and flour viscosity predict pasta quality in pinto bean germplasm.

Background: Pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most widely grown dry bean market class in the USA. While traditionally consumed as whole pulses, making products from pinto bean flour is being explored to increase appeal and consumption by consumers. There is a need to understand the effects that macronutrients, flour functionality, genotype and production environment have on pinto bean pasta characteristics, particularly characteristics that improve the quality of the pasta, such as texture. Here, pinto bean germplasm from major bean breeding programs in North Dakota and Washington were evaluated for whole bean, flour and pasta characteristics. Forty-six pinto bean genotypes were grown in Carrington and Hatton, North Dakota, and 106 genotypes were grown in Othello, Washington, over 2 years.

Results: Bean flour pasting viscosities (peak, trough, setback, final) were significantly (P < 0.0001) correlated with each other and were negatively correlated with cooked pasta texture. Bean flour protein concentration varied from 169 to 261 g kg^-1 and was moderately correlated (r = 0.41, P < 0.0001) with pasta cooked texture firmness. Analysis of variance showed that genotypic and environmental effects controlled most traits under investigation, but genotype × environment interactions did not significantly affect protein concentration.

Conclusion: Pinto bean with higher protein content made pastas with firmer texture for better quality. This study provides breeders with information about using protein concentration as well as pasting viscosity as screening criteria to select cultivars that can improve pasta texture. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.