Quality of western Canadian lentils 2017

7. Western Canadian red lentils

Table 6 shows 2017 quality data for red lentil composites. Mean protein content for red lentils, including the varieties CDC Dazil, CDC Imax, CDC Impact, CDC Impala, CDC Imperial, CDC King Red, CDC Maxim, CDC Redberry and CDC Rouleau, was 25.9%, which was lower than the mean (26.5%) for 2016. Mean starch content (46.4%) was similar to the mean for 2016. Mean total dietary fiber content was 13.2%, lower than the mean for 2016. Mean ash content was 2.6%, lower than the mean (2.9%) for 2016. Results for both macroelements and microelements observed in red lentils had similar trends to those observed in green lentils (Table 6).

Mean 100-seed weight was 3.5 g per 100 seeds, which was higher than the mean (3.1 g per 100 seeds) for 2016 and the mean water absorption was 0.90 g H₂O per g seeds, similar to the mean for 2016.

The mean dehulling efficiency for red lentils was 84.8%, which was higher than the mean for 2016 (Table 6). Colour of dehulled lentils was measured using a Hunterlab LabScan XE spectrocolorimeter with the CIE L*, a* and b* colour scale. Dehulled splits exhibited more brightness (L*) and more yellowness (b*) as compared to dehulled whole seeds (Table 6). Approximately 71% of red lentils fell within the 4.0 to 5.0 mm range, which was lower than that (75%) for 2016 (Table 7).