Pulses help cook fried, other food

EAGLE STAFF

More pulse ingredients are helping coat some foods and officials anticipate the use to grow.

“Coating systems are widely used” for such foods as fish, fried chicken, French fries, mozzarella sticks and onion rings, a recent item on the Pulse Canada website said.

Companies already using pulses include Walmart, which uses pea flour in its frozen chicken and fish; Aldi in Australia, which coats chicken balls with chickpea flour; Asda in Great Britain, where lentil flour goes onto its crispy shredded chicken; and Birds Eye in Europe, whose fish fingers have a coat of pea flour, the article said.

“Processed meats - especially poultry and fish - are the largest segment, but coatings are also used in appetizers and bakery mixes,” it said. “While wheat flour remains the dominant ingredient in batters and breadings, representing nearly 80 per cent of all new launches, gluten-free products are driving demand for alternatives.”

Pulse Canada’s market innovation team is working with others in the industry to increase such uses and workers at the Prairie Research Kitchen on the campus of the Red River College Polytechnic in Winnipeg have tested lentil and pea flours in fried chicken, fish, potato and snacks.

“Results showed measurable advantages - improved crispiness and texture, faster golden colour development,” shorter cooking times and they hold up well under heat lamps before serving, the article said.

Pulse ingredients represent “a strong fit for companies pursuing nutrition and climate goals alongside product performance,” the article said. That’s because they contain protein, fibre and micronutrients such as iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc and folate and fix nitrogen in soil, use water efficiently and contribute to lower greenhouse-gas emissions.