Process for treating plant-based substrates for food products

A method of preparing a concentrate for a coffee-substitute beverage from a legume, fruit seed, or combination thereof, wherein the method comprises:

• contacting the legume, fruit seed, or combination thereof with an aqueous solution containing an acid to form an acid-treated legume or an acid-treated fruit seed having a pH between about 4 and about 7,
• roasting the acid-treated legume or the acid-treated fruit seed to generate a roasted, acid-treated legume or a roasted, acid-treated fruit seed,
• grinding the roasted, acid-treated legume or the roasted, acid-treated fruit seed to yield a ground legume substrate or a ground fruit seed substrate having an average particle size of about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm,
• extracting the ground legume substrate or the ground fruit seed substrate with water to produce a first legume extract or a first fruit seed extract, and
• concentrating the legume extract or the fruit seed extract by removing at least a portion of the water to form a legume concentrate or a fruit seed concentrate, wherein the extracted water is removed by evaporation, freezing, and/or thawing of the extract.

A method for making a soluble plant-based granule, a soluble plant-based pellet, or a soluble plant-based powder for use in a consumable food or beverage, wherein the method comprises:

• (a) treating a plurality of plant seeds, beans, or peas with one or more chemical solutions, each chemical solution comprising water and an acid or a base, and/or one or more enzymatic solutions, each enzymatic solution comprising water and one or more enzymes, thereby producing a plurality of treated plant seeds, a plurality of treated beans, or a plurality of treated peas;
• (b) roasting the treated plant seeds, the treated beans, or the treated peas, thereby producing roasted, treated plant seeds, roasted, treated beans, or roasted, treated peas;
• (c) grinding the roasted, treated plant seeds, roasted, treated beans, or roasted, treated peas, thereby producing plant seed grounds, bean grounds, or pea grounds comprising particles having an average particle size of about 0.10 mm to about 5 mm;
• (d) extracting the plant seed grounds, bean grounds, or pea grounds in water at a temperature of about 60° C. to about 175° C. to produce a plant seed extract, a bean extract, or a pea extract;
• (e) concentrating the plant seed extract, the bean extract, or the pea extract by removing at least a portion of the water by evaporation, freezing, or thawing to form a plant seed concentrate, a bean concentrate, or a pea concentrate;
• and
• (f) drying the plant seed concentrate, the bean concentrate, or the pea concentrate, thereby yielding a soluble plant-based granule, a soluble plant-based pellet, or a soluble plant-based powder.