Miller Magazine Issue: 135 March 2021

67 ARTICLE MILLER / march 2021 prominent role in future food formulations. In the last decades Bühler has been steadily invest- ing in R&D to offer sustainable pulses process technol- ogies along the complete value chain: from the bean, pea, chickpea or lentil to ready-to-eat delicious products. Bühler offers holistic process concepts, particularly in the field of protein extraction and its implementation in val- ue-add foods. However, what are the possibilities to turn pulses into ingredients? Let’s take a closer look at the pulses pro- cessing landscape. Flawless cleaning of the pulses seed is mandatory. Dehulling is also a key preparation step before processing the pulses into ingredients. After the dehulling step, there are three processing options. The first option is to grind the pulses directly into flour, which is then used to make traditional local foods or to add value to bakery, snacks and pasta products, making them richer in protein and fiber than those made with common flours such as wheat and corn. The second option to convert pulses into ingredients is through the integration of fine grinding and air classifica- tion steps, a process known as fractionation. This process delivers pulses concentrates, with protein content of up to 60% (depending on the raw material). Concentrates have a higher value and a bigger field of application than pulses flours. Besides their use to add value to snacks and baked goods through higher protein claims, pulses concentrates have great potential in pet food and animal feed applications, as well as in the plant-based meat sub-