A GUIDE TO PULSE INGREDIENTS

Available in forms such as whole, flakes, and crumbles, these pulses are already cooked and dehydrated allowing for significant reduction in cooking time, enhancing production efficiency. Their lightweight nature reduces shipping costs, and their long shelf life ensures reliable ingredient sourcing and limits food waste. Their consistent quality and ease of use also contribute to a more reliable production process, ensuring that each batch meets the same high standards. Highly nutritious, they are ideal for creating gluten-free, high-protein, or fiber-rich products such as meatless ground meat, soups, granola, stews, ready-to-eat, and instant meals.

Pulse flour is characterized by a higher protein content (20-25%) when compared to other common types of flour (7-15%). It is available in both raw and cooked (pre-gelled) forms, and is known for its high amylose content, providing excellent gelling properties. Pulse flour boosts the nutritional profile of food products by increasing protein and fiber content, as well as essential nutrients like folate, iron, and zinc. With a color range from neutral to green and red, it is suitable for gluten-free products, bakery applications, pastas, and snacks such as puffs. It also works effectively as gluten-free breading. Pulse flour is available in various mesh sizes to meet manufacturing requirements.

Pulse starch offers excellent gelling properties and a neutral taste, with a high amylose content. It serves as a thickener, water binder, and stabilizer, and acts as an anti-caking and bulking ingredient. Pulse starches, such as pea starch, exhibit good film-forming properties. Its functional benefits make it suitable for use in confectionery as a partial gelatin replacement or in baked goods as a bulking agent and shelf-life enhancer. Pulse starches are also used in extruded snacks to control the expansion and in gluten-free breading to enhance the adhesion and ensure crispiness.

As an alternative to gums, pulse fiber has high water and fat retention capacity, reducing cooking loss and improving mouthfeel and juiciness. It reduces breakage in baked goods and enhances nutritional profiles by increasing fiber content while lowering calories. Pulse fiber is ideal for baked goods like bread, bagels, and muffins, as well as low-fat applications, soups, sauces, dressings, ready-to-eat meals, and extruded snacks.

With a protein content of 50-60%, pulse protein concentrate enhances the nutritional profile by increasing protein content. It improves yield and juiciness in meat alternatives and meat extenders while also improving structure. Pulse protein concentrates are a great alternative to soy and are used in nutrition bars, textured vegetable protein, meat alternatives and extenders, and gluten-free, soy-free applications.

Boasting a protein content of over 80%, pulse protein isolate significantly boosts the nutritional profile by increasing protein content. It enhances yield and juiciness in meat alternatives and meat extensions while improving structure. With high protein purity, it can be applied into a wide range of applications including beverages, nutrition bars, egg replacers, meat alternatives and extenders, dairy alternatives, baked goods, snacks, and gluten-free, soy-free applications.

Textured pulse protein offers a fibrous, meat-like texture and comes in various sizes and shapes such as crumbles, flakes, and chunks, ensuring versatility in applications. The sophisticated texturization process allows for creating tailored ingredients with various shapes, textures, and hydration characteristics, making it a highly adaptable component for food production. With its high water-holding capacity, it significantly enhances texture and mouthfeel. Textured pulse protein has a long shelf life, is lightweight, and cholesterol-free, making it perfect for a wide range of products, including ground meat dishes like tacos, burgers, nuggets, stuffing, and more.