Food System and sustainability

This PhD project aims to valorize legume cooking water (LCW) by investigating its techno-functionalities and developing products suitable also for consumers having specific dietary restrictions. LCW interaction with common ingredients (e.g., sugars, acids) will be assessed. Preliminary results indicated that lentils cooking water has high foaming capacity, chickpeas cooking water has higher emulsifier capacity exploitable for different food applications, while insoluble compound removal and acidification strategies advantaged foaming capacity and stability differently. The project outcomes will enlarge knowledge of LCW composition and techno-functionalities, contributing to valorize a waste product as new ingredient for target consumers.