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Naturheilkraft Pea skins contain many valuable pectins
In food processing, pectins are widely used as natural ingredients. They serve as thickening and gelling agents, for example for the preparation of jellies and yoghurts, reports the consumer information service aid. Given the high demand for pectins, alternative production methods are needed. Here, researchers from the TU Berlin have now put the focus on the pectin from pea skins, so the message of aid.
According to the consumer information service, pectins are important ingredients both in food processing, in the pharmaceutical industry and in cosmetics production. They are obtained, for example, from apple pomace or citrus peel, where they occur, inter alia, in the cell walls. "With such high volumes, which are needed in various areas of processing, it is also worthwhile to continue research with known methods - always in search of the most economical variant," emphasizes the Consumer Information Service.
The shell of peas contains many valuable pectins, which can be obtained relatively easily. (Image: Leonid Nyshko / fotolia.com) New possibilities of pectin recovery
The scientists of the TU Berlin concentrated their investigations on new possibilities of pectin recovery on the pea skins, which are usually regarded as "green waste". The stable and tough shell of the peas not only contain valuable fibers, but consist of 16 percent pectin, according to the aid. In addition, the shells are rather dry compared to pomace and therefore allow a more energy-saving extraction of valuable ingredients. Researchers from the TU researchers have been named the "project of the month" by the "Food Industry Research Group e. V. (FEI)" in the face of rising global demand for pectin, the Consumer Information Service continues.
50,000 tonnes of pectins are produced annually
According to aid, about 50,000 tonnes of pectin are currently being produced worldwide each year, and the trend is rising. Here it seems only logical to use the pea pods instead of disposing of them on the compost. The studies at the TU are a project of Industrial Community Research, which should mainly medium-sized companies to benefit, which in turn have no capacity for larger and lengthy studies. "The research results and advantages of the pea peel pectins, which come from local cultivation and are also low in allergens, are made available to the companies in test preparations in a practical way," says the aid. The Consumer Information Service assumes that businesses are convinced by the process "if both the pectin yield and quality are correct." For example, if the spread could be made even cheaper by using the pea skins, a change in production would be in the entrepreneurial interest. In addition, consumers should also be pleased, even if they do not suspect what peas should have to do with jam, so the conclusion of the aid. (Fp)