ABSTRACTRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND HARD-TO-COOK PHENOMENON OF DRY BEANSByROSETTE NAKALEMACommon beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are one of the most important legumes cultivated worldwide today. Despite the fact that all beans have a long cooking time, some beans cook faster than others. The objective of this study was to determine the physicochemical properties of dry common beans influencing their cooking time. Three genotypes of yellow and three of red mottled beans from both Puerto Rico and Tanzania locations were used in the study. In order to ascertain the relationships among physiochemical properties and cooking times, the properties such as seed coat weight and thickness, calcium and magnesium contents, protein content, starch content, starch gelatinization and protein denaturation temperatures, and pectin content were determined.Ascending order of cooking time for yellow bean varieties was ADP-521, ADP-111 and ADP-513, and for red mottled bean varieties was ADP-443, ADP-436 and ADP-434. There was no significant difference in cooking time of soaked and dehulled studied bean varieties. Country of origin had no effect on the trend of cooking time. Among the studied physicochemical properties, seed coat thickness, starch content, total pectin content, and hot water soluble pectin content each was associated with cooking time of the studied dry beans.
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