Summary
Legume proteins are a potential source of functional ingredients to create good quality plant-based milk substitutes. However, the designing of high-quality plant-based milk substitutes depends on ingredients and processing operations. Thus, the objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of soaking, soaking & blanching, germination, and germination & blanching in development of high-quality mung bean (Vigna radiate L.) based vegan milk. Also, studied the effect of processing methods on nutritional, physico-chemical, sensory, and microbiological analyses of developed product. Sample with germination method showed the highest protein (4.39%), carbohydrates (5.52%), and energy (39.93%) compared to other processing methods. Germination & blanching method reported a higher viscosity, sucrose content, and TSS compared to other methods. All the samples showed a presence of 12 amino acids (e.g., glutamic acid, phenylalanine, and serine) and absence of cystine and methionine. All the samples showed a decrease in pH and acidity, while no clot formation during the storage period. The presence of microbiological count was noticed from days 7 and 10, which remain under the acceptable standard limits. Germination & blanching received a high sensory score and overall acceptability and provided the good quality attributes of mung bean-based vegan milk. Thus, these processing technologies can be used to develop higher quality, healthiness, and more sustainable vegan beverages that can substitute the animal-based milk.