Paste particle and bean size as related to sweetened Azuki paste quality

Influences of the amount of sugar, particle size of unsweetened paste, and bean size on sweetened paste quality were evaluated in two types of azuki. Increased sugar resulted in darker, less red, and less yellow sweetened pas te and decreased hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness of sweetened paste. Sweetened paste produced from larger particles was less red and less yellow than that from smaller ones. Paste particle size, as determined by sedimen tation tests, was correlated with graininess of sweetened paste (r = 0.930* *), indicating that the larger the paste particle, the grainier the sweeten ed paste produced. Protein content ranged from 22.3% in small beans to 26.1 % in large beans in Azuki cv. Erimo and from 22.4% in medium size beans to 23.5% in large beans in Azuki WSU 262. Proportion of unsweetened paste part icles that were <106 mu m was 71.5% in small beans but only 39.3% in large beans in Erimo, and 38.7% in medium size beans, and 23.8% in large beans in WSU 262. Sweetened paste produced from larger beans was less red and lower in hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness than that from smaller beans.