Development and quality evaluation of vegan cheese prepared from red kidney bean: a plant-based dairy alternative for sustainable protein choice

Abstract

The Red Kidney Bean is a good source of protein among the pulses. In this study plant based (vegan) cheese of Red Kidney Bean were developed from whole, dehulled and germinated red kidney bean respectively. Novel vegan cheese was developed from red kidney bean. Proximate analysis, mineral composition, bioactive compound and amino acid profile were analyzed. The ranges of moisture, protein, ash and fat content was found (83.38-77.68)%, (11.21-7.28)%, (0.84-0.48)% and (6.69-1.32)% respectively. Among the minerals, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, chloride, sodium, calcium, iron, copper and zinc were analyzed and the maximum values obtained for those were 6.6 mg/dL, 2.4 mg/dL, 7.8 mmol/L, 14.6 mmol/L, 41.7 mmol/L, 1.39 mg/dL, 74.1μg/dL, 50 μg/dL and 50 ppm/dL respectively. Among the bioactive compound total polyphenol content and total flavonoids were determined. The maximum values obtained were 0.853 mg GAE/g and 9.002 mg QE/g respectively. Ten essential amino acids and four non-essential amino acids were analyzed. The results were compared with the dairy cheese and soy tofu. The soy tofu and dairy cheeses contain higher amount of nutrients than the vegan cheese. But the price is of the vegan cheese is 15 times lower than the dairy cheese and almost 3 times lower than the soy tofu. So, these products could be sustainable and alternative protein-rich foods that have the potential to be a source of protein for lactose intolerant and allergic people while also being more cost-effective than regular cheese and soy tofu.