A STANDARDIZED METHOD OF PREPARING COMMON BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L.) FOR SENSORY ANALYSIS

Methods of preparing bean samples for sensory analyses should be simple and reproducible. The method we propose, based on popular traditions (soaking and cooking beans in distilled water, forgoing blanching, and keeping simmering to a minimum), increased the number of beans that remained whole after cooking by 50% compared with the check method. No differences between the new method and the check were observed in the solids lost during the cooking process or in a panel's evaluation of the sensory properties of the beans. Furthermore, the new method is more efficient for handling the small samples that are common in breeding programs. Its repeatability for both sensory and nutritional analyses is very high: two replicates seem sufficient for high resolution. Thus, we propose that it be adopted for sensory and nutritional analyses of cooked beans. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This article describes a new standardized method to prepare dry beans for sensory and nutritional analyses. This clear, simple, repeatable method has the additional advantages of being similar to traditional cooking methods, and is suitable for use with small samples of seeds. We propose it as a reference for sensory and nutritional research in dry beans.