Chocolate chip cookie dough made with chickpea flour. Pulse starches are being explored for use in batters, breading, pastas and various snack foods.

Starch market search yields results for pulses

Food scientists look to improve pulse crops’ value proposition beyond their proteins

Glacier FarmMedia — Protein is normally the focus of pulse production, but research shows value can also be gained from the starch byproduct. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are seeking new uses for pulse starches in the food and biomaterial sectors. Byproduct market research aims to reduce food waste, increase efficiency and add more […] Read more


canadian light source

Research lights up pulse flours’ specific properties

A project uses Saskatoon’s synchrotron to dissect the best flours for given food uses

Glacier FarmMedia — Pulses have a niche in the plant protein space, but the industry hopes new markets and new end-uses will help those crops expand their footprint. Chitra Sivakumar, a doctoral researcher at the University of Manitoba, is one of the people trying to make that happen. In a recent project, she and her […] Read more

pile of soybeans

Possibilities prevail for the Prairie soy sector

Choices include the introduction of gene-editing and opportunities in the food market

Glacier FarmMedia — Canada has a small but growing soybean industry that faces some forks in the road. Soy Canada executive director Brian Innes tells growers from across the country that they should relish the options that lie before them. “Where do we want to go from here? The choice is ours,” he said repeatedly, […] Read more



Faba beans.

The flatulence-free faba bean

The process used is seen as an important tool for sustainability

Glacier FarmMedia — Let’s get the obvious part out of the way. By separating “the good stuff” (protein, starch and dietary fibre) from faba beans, a University of Alberta researcher has improved on a process that minimizes human flatulence from eating them. That issue has long been a deterrent to mass acceptance of the pulse. […] Read more





samples of durum wheat in jars on shelves

Shedding new light on spoiling crops

A few pages from now you’ll see Jim Timlick check in on the topic of grain storage with Dr. Digvir Jayas, one of the Prairies’ best known experts in that field of research. Earlier this summer Dr. Jayas was named the president of the University of Lethbridge, after a storied 38-year stint at the University […] Read more

Kashika Sethi (l) and Rhea Thomas Thommana (r) were at Ag in Motion to represent food scientists Drs. Martin Reaney and Michael Nickerson and their 3D printer projects, including their work on printable protein-based materials, such as the pea-based “chicken leg” seen in the machine. (Becky Zimmer photo)

At Ag in Motion: 3D printer takes aim at food ingredients

Making foods both plant-based and printable the goal

With the development of 3D printing, the age of Star Trek replicators has arrived. For master’s student Rhea Thomas Thommana and PhD student Kashika Sethi, food replication is on the horizon as well. Thomas Thommana and Sethi were at Ag in Motion this week with a 3D printer designed to incorporate plant-based ingredients into food, […] Read more