Investigation of microwave heating effect on technological properties of chickpea blanching water (aquafaba)

The production of plant-based proteins, such as aquafaba, has increased in recent years due to climate change, changes in dietary habits, and sustainable food production. Aquafaba is a plant-based protein source obtained from the cooking water of chickpeas. The aim of this study was to improve the functional properties of aquafaba solutions used for food texture development and increase their potential for use in food. For this purpose, two different microwave powers (350 W and 600 W) were applied to heat aquafaba. The effects of microwave heating on the chemical (FTIR and XRD analysis), functional (foaming, and emulsifying) and morphological properties (SEM analysis) of aquafaba were investigated. The difference between foaming and foaming stability of control and microwave-heated samples was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). It was found that the emulsion activity indexes of the control and aquafaba samples heated at 350W and were different from the samples heated at 600W after 24h and 72h (p<0.05). XRD and FTIR gave information about the change in saponin structure in aquafaba samples. It was observed that microwave heating affected the emulsion activity index with the change in the chemical structure of aquafaba samples.