Effects of Ultrasound-Assisted Soaking and Pressure-Cooking on Green Pea Aquafaba: Comparative Properties with Chickpea and Cowpea Aquafaba

Tai, Jing Wen (2026) Effects of Ultrasound-Assisted Soaking and Pressure-Cooking on Green Pea Aquafaba: Comparative Properties with Chickpea and Cowpea Aquafaba. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

Text Tai Jing Wen_Full Text.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (1MB)

Abstract

The growing demand for plant-based ingredients highlights the need to explore alternative sources of aquafaba. However, limited information exists on green pea aquafaba (GPA) and the influence of processing conditions on its functional properties. This study aims to investigate the effects of ultrasound-assisted soaking and pressure-cooking on GPA production. Three different ultrasound-soaking times (20, 40, and 60 minutes) were applied on green peas, followed by three different pressure-cooking times (20, 40, and 60 minutes). Water absorption and texture of soaked peas were assessed, and the resulting GPA was evaluated for physical (yield, colour, and density), physicochemical (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids content, viscosity, and total soluble protein content), foaming (foaming ability and foaming stability), and emulsifying (emulsifying activity index and emulsifying stability index) properties. The optimum ultrasound-soaking and pressure-cooking conditions were selected to proceed the comparative study with chickpea aquafaba (CPA) and cowpea aquafaba (CoPA). Results showed that prolonged ultrasound soaking increased water absorption and softened peas, while the combination of longer ultrasound-soaking and pressure-cooking significantly included GPA’s yield and functional properties. The 60 minutes of ultrasound-soaking with combination of 60 minutes of pressure-cooking produced the GPA with significantly highest total soluble protein content (TSP) at 91.05 ± 0.82 mg/100 mL, foaming stability (FS) at 93.8 ± 1.40%, emulsifying activity index (EAI) at 177.24 ± 1.66 m²/g and emulsifying stability index (ESI) at 195.06 ± 11.7 min. Under these optimum conditions, the GPA exhibited significantly highest TSP, foaming ability (FA), and EAI than CPA and CoPA while comparable FS and ESI with CPA. This study suggests that ultrasound is anticipated to reduce the soaking time, and the coupled with the pressure-cooking enhances the GPA functionality. The green pea shows to be a potential alternative source of aquafaba for use as plant-based ingredients in the food industry.