WATER ABSORPTION IN BEAN SEEDS (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) DURING PROCESSING

The purpose of this paper was to estimate and to evaluate the hydration curves of three kinds of dry bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), besides adjusting the Peleg’s model to the experimental values under several soaking temperatures. Bean seeds of pinto, black and red kidney varieties were soaked in distilled water in the temperatures of 20, 30, 40 and 50 °C. The constant C1 (Peleg rate constant) signifi cantly decreased with increase in temperature (20 a 50 °C) demonstrating that the initial rate of water absorption increased with temperature. The three bean varieties exhibited a high rate of water absorption in the beginning of the hydration process, being that Peleg’s model adjusted satisfactorily to the experimental data.