Partially Germinated Ingredients for Naturally Healthy and Tasty Products

摘要

Consumers are increasingly seeking natural food products that are both tasty and healthy. The question is how can we, the food industry, successfully meet these demands? Germination is a natural and traditional method that can be used to improve the nutritional, functional, and sensory properties of grains such as pulses and cereals. Pulses are a particularly rich source of vegetable proteins, dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals, but their nutritional value is limited by the presence of antinutrients that reduce digestibility and micronutrient bioavailability. Germination is a powerful natural process that reduces the antinutrient content in pulses while substantially augmenting their nutrient content. In many countries, the germination process traditionally has been performed at a household level, but an industrial process has recently been developed to apply the advantages of natural germination at an industrial scale and enable the development of innovative commercial food products.