Aroma of peas, its constituents and reduction strategies – Effects from breeding to processing

Peas as an alternative protein source have attracted a great deal of interest from the food industry and consumers in recent years. However, pea proteins usually do not taste neutral and exhibit a distinct flavor, often characterized as “beany”. This is usually contrasted by the food industry's desire for sensory neutral protein sources. In this review, we highlight the current state of knowledge about the aroma of peas and its changes along the pea value chain. Possible causes and origins, and approaches to reduce or eliminate the aroma constituents are presented. Fermentative methods were identified as interesting to mitigate undesirable off-flavors. Major potential has also been discussed for breeding, as there appears to be a considerable leverage at this point in the value chain: a reduction of plant-derived flavors, precursors, or substrates involved in off-flavor evolution could prevent the need for expensive removal later.