Project Number: 3635-21430-007-03
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jul 17, 2007
End Date: Sep 30, 2009

Objective:
To study the color retention in two populations of black beans after thermal processing. The populations were generated from parents contrasting in color retention after thermal processing.

Approach:
To grow two recombinant inbred line populations of black beans in a uniform location at the Sugarbeet & Bean Research Farm in Saginaw, Michigan. Each genotype would be harvested separately and evaluated for color retention using a modified soaking procedure developed by the ARS unit in East Lansing. Future work will be conducted on the color retention of actual cooked beans to determine if the modified soak test is a valuable predictor of color loss during the initial hydration (blanching) step of the cooking process.