i THERMAL PROCESSING EFFECTS ON TOTAL ... - McGill University

2.1 The Lentils
Lentils (Lens culnaris Medikus), a cool season food legume and one of the
world‘s oldest cultivated crops, plays an important role in the diets of many cultures.
Lentils are consumed daily by many inhabitants of the Middle East and Asia (Yadav et al.,
2007). Lentils are an important commercial crop grown in Canada, with large areas in
Saskatchewan being devoted to their culture (Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, 2007).
Canada‘s production of lentils reached 1.04 Tg yr -1 in 2002, and its exports accounted for
44 % of total international lentil exports (Agriculture and Agri- food Canada, 2002c).
Lentil is annual bushy herb with erect, spreading and compact growth habit. Its stems are
slender, angular, light green in color, and the plants are 0.15-0.75 m in height. The seeds
are round, small, lens shaped and weigh between 2-8g per 100 seeds (Duke 1981,
Muehlbauer et al., 1985).
Although the lentils consumption is relatively low in western countries, the
production and consumption per capita has increased over the last few years. Lentil seeds
are used in various cuisines worldwide, and lentil flour can be used in soups, stews and
purees, as well as mixed with cereals to make breads, cakes and food for infants (William
and Singh, 1988) which provide essential amino acids which are deficient in cereal grains.
Further, lentil flour also has a potential for traditional and newer product developments
with various health benefits since it contain large amount of protein, and is gluten-free
and low in glycemic index (Swanson, 1990).
Lentil varieties differ on the basis of their seed coat, cotyledon colour, seed size,
plant hairiness, and leaf colour (Yadhav et al., 2007). Two main varieties of lentils are
grown in Canada, red and green. Red-colored lentils, which have brown or grey seed
coats and orange to red cotyledons, are mainly consumed hulled, whereas green lentils,
with light green seed coats and yellow cotyledon, are consumed whole.
2.2 Chemical Composition of Lentils:
The chemical composition of lentil-like food legumes is governed by the species,
cultivar, geographic location and growth conditions. Lentil seeds‘ main components
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