Evaluation of Cooking Time and Impact of Retort Processing, Packaging Material, and Calcium Chloride Additive on Pulse ( <i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i> , <i>Phaseolus coccineus</i> , and <i>Cicer arietinum</i> ) Quality Attributes

Dry beans (pulses) offer many benefits yet are often undervalued. There are many barriers preventing consumers from selecting pulses, including poor perceptions of ready‐to‐eat (RTE) options. Retort processing, which produces commercially sterile and shelf‐stable food products, has been previously evaluated on bean varieties processed within metal cans and plastic pouches, but not within glass jars. The goal of this research was to understand differences in average cooking time, measured via Mattson cooker, followed by how packaging material, bean variety, and use of calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) additive impacted various retort processed quality attributes, including hydration coefficient (HC), washed drained coefficient (WDC), texture, color attributes ( L ∗ , chroma, and hue angle), brine viscosity, and brine clarity. Glass jars required the longest retort processing time at 121.1°C (14 min), while metal cans and plastic pouches had shorter processing times (6 min). There were significant ( p &lt; 0.001) variations in average cooking times across bean variety. All measured quality attributes were significantly impacted ( p &lt; 0.001) by the interaction between variety and packaging, while CaCl 2 independently impacted texture and brine viscosity, resulting in a moderate negative correlation ( r = −0.60) due to seed coat splitting. Bean texture was negatively correlated ( r = −0.60) with bean L ∗ , indicating that darker colored beans generally have firmer textures due to increased content of phenolic compounds, also contributing to more opaque brine clarity ( r = −0.64). CaCl 2 generally resulted in higher quality products due to firmer texture and reduced brine viscosity, and quality attributes were found to be the most variable within samples processed in plastic pouches. Ultimately, this study provides a comparison of standardized retort processing protocols for pulses within metal cans, plastic pouches, and glass jars, and the generated quality attribute data introduces possible product innovation and opportunities to continue to optimize RTE pulses for increased consumer acceptance.