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July 9, 2015 (Winnipeg) – A decadent, chocolate-coconut cake was crowned national champion in the eighth annual Mission:ImPULSEible food product development competition. The Celebration Coco Bean Cake, created by Samantha Smith and Danielle MacDonald of Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, is made from 100% pulse-based flour and topped with “frosting” made with coconut milk and pea fiber.
“The possibilities of creating new foods using pulses are endless,” said MacDonald, “and we wanted to play up their versatility by putting them in something most people wouldn’t think of – a sweet dessert.”
“When we entered the competition, we were really excited about the potential of pulses as a food category,” said Smith. “They are filled with important nutrients, and to incorporate them into something fun and celebratory like a chocolate cake and have it taste good is just a win-win.”
Mission: ImPULSEible challenges Canada’s culinary students to get creative in producing new food products featuring Canadian pulses (peas, lentils, beans and chickpeas). This year saw 35 student teams from across the country develop pulse-inspired dishes with the goal of creating awareness for the International Year of Pulses 2016 (IYP).
“The 2015 Mission:ImPULSEible competition featured some of the most creative products we have seen yet,” said Christine Farkas, Manager of Food Product & Culinary of Innovation with Pulse Canada, and organizer of the event. “With IYP on the horizon, I wanted to see the students get really innovative and create dishes you wouldn’t normally associate with pulses. This year’s competitors certainly rose to the challenge,” says Farkas.
Second place in the competition went to the University of Saskatchewan team’s Pulsiano Pizza, a frozen gluten-free pizza. The crust includes lentil flour, the pizza sauce is a combination of tomato sauce and pureed kidney beans, and the pizza is topped with vegetables and roasted chickpeas.
Third place went to team Alberta’s Peamon Tart with a lemon filling in a flaky crust made from a mixture of red kidney beans, chickpeas, Romano beans and great northern white beans. The product is gluten-free and the eggs are replaced with pea protein.
All provincial competitions as well as the 2015 national competition images and product information can be found on the Mission: ImPULSEible Facebook Page.
Pulse Canada is the national association representing growers, traders and processors of Canadian pulse crops (peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas).
For more information, contact: Christine Farkas, Manager of Food Product & Culinary Innovation, Pulse Canada, 204.807.6898, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Two members of Japan’s pulse trade speak with IFT about their country’s confectionary use of dry beans.
In Japan, as in many Asian countries, beans are primarily consumed in sweet foods. Adzuki and baby lima beans are the most commonly used. The beans are made into jelly or paste and then used as a pastry filling in such popular foods as anpan (buns filled with bean paste) daifuku (a rice cake filled with bean paste), manjū (a pastry filled with bean paste), monaka (wafers with bean jam spread), and sakuramochi (bean paste wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf), to name just a few. There is even ice cream made from adzuki beans.
To learn more about Japan’s confectionary use of beans, IFT spoke with Kunichiro Amakasu of Dah Chong Hong (Japan) Ltd. and Naoki Hashimoto of Aiwa Co., Ltd. Dah Chong Hong (Japan) is wholly owned by Dah Chong Hong Holdings, a business conglomerate based in Hong Kong, China, in which CITIC holds a 60% interest. Amakasu has been involved in Dah Chong Hong’s pulse business for 22 years and was recently invited to join the CICILS/GPC board. Naoki Hashimoto is the President of Nagoya-based Aiwa Co., Ltd., a company that purchases most of its adzuki beans from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Both Hashimoto and Amakasu are members of the Japan Pea and Bean Importers Association.
Read the full interview by Dario Bard on the International Food Trader website.
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North Americans will soon be learning a lot about pulses. A consumer marketing campaign, which will run from November 2015 through 2017-18, will teach consumers about the health, nutrition and environmental benefits of eating more peas, lentils, beans and chickpeas.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) announced a $3.5 million commitment to support the pulse campaign. "Pulse Canada is thrilled about this agreement with WD, which represents a true partnership between Canadian pulse growers and processors and the Government of Canada. We are very thankful for this support and value this partnership," says Lee Moats, Chair of the Board of Pulse Canada. "The launch of this brand will be a pivotal moment for Canada's pulse industry. The campaign will draw a clear link between pulses and consumer priorities like increased protein, healthier lifestyles and sustainable food," says Moats, a lentil farmer from Riceton, Saskatchewan.
The campaign will re-launch pulses as a food category. "Pulses have been nourishing people around the world for thousands of years," says Ryan Kubinec, Vice Chair of Pulse Canada and a pulse farmer from the Westlock, Alberta area. "They are the perfect partner for healthy people and a healthy planet. They are a low fat, high fibre source of protein, and eating pulses can help manage health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Pulses are also a low carbon footprint food, are a water efficient source of protein, and are a key component of sustainable cropping systems," says Kubinec.
The multi-faceted pulse campaign will target millennials (ages 20 – 35), and will include a new consumer website, promotions on social media channels and retail promotions. The WD contribution will support campaign production, media buying and pulse brand promotion.
Earlier this year the pulse campaign also received $875,000 from the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF), which will be used for human resources and campaign performance measurement. "ACIDF is pleased to support this initiative promoting Canadian pulses, which will ultimately benefit the pulse industry in Alberta and across Canada," says Doug Walkey, Executive Director of ACIDF.
"The United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP) which will be an exciting year for the pulse industry around the world. IYP provides an excellent opportunity to launch the Pulse brand here in North America," says Moats.
Canada is the world's largest producers of peas and lentils, and is the world's biggest exporters of pulses. Last year, Canada produced 5.8 million tonnes of pulses. 5.7 million tonnes were exported to 150 countries around the world.
Pulse Canada is the national association of growers, traders and processors of Canadian pulse crops. Canada is the world's largest supplier pulses, with annual exports reaching more than 150 countries.
SOURCE Pulse Canada
For further information: Gordon Bacon, Chief Executive Officer, (204) 925-4452, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Pulse Canada – More on this organization
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The University of Northampton has recently interviewed Milan Shah, a leading pulse and spice trader and a big pulse advocate, who also served as Director of the Grain and Feed Trade Association in the past. During the interview, Mr. Shah shared his excitement about the International Year of Pulses and explained the importance of it:
"When I was a student, there were over a billion chronically undernourished people in the world. Today there are approximately 800m in this category, but we now have 1.9 billion overweight adults as well. The social, political, economic and environmental ramifications are concerning to say the least. But what can we do? Acting alone, very little. But acting in concert, maybe we can move the needle in terms of impact." noted Mr. Shah.
Adding that "I’m really excited that the UN has dedicated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, that’s peas, beans and lentils (before our paramedics get too excited). A high fibre, high protein food, full of vitamins that can be grown with minimal water and that actually puts nitrogen back into the soil as a natural fertilizer for subsequent crops. Good for consumers, good for farmers and good for the environment. It won’t solve the problem, but it will make a difference in the right direction. And that’s worth doing."