Dry edible beans are highly nutritious. However, one of the limitations for their utilization is the presence of flatulence factors, especially the raffinose family of oligosaccharides. Removal of the raffinose oligosaccharides would encourage consumption of bean-based foods. This book, therefore, provides a microbial enzymatic treatment, which was the most effective among various traditional processing methods tested for removing raffinose oligosaccharides. Crude fungal ?- galactosidases completely eliminated raffinose oligosaccharides and have potential use in the food industry. More specific enzymatic methods for producing good sensory characteristics of bean paste need to be developed before commercialization. This book should be especially useful to professionals in food science industry or academia.
