A new twist on the classic perogy, a yogurt beverage and pastry tart were the innovative new food products created in this year’s Mission ImPULSEible: Food Development Competition, which took place at the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA) convention in Saskatoon in July.

Three student teams accepted the challenge of creating food products using pulse-based ingredients during the second annual Mission ImPULSEible food product development competition, organized by Pulse Canada and sponsored by Bissma Pacific. On July 13, regional winners from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario met in Saskatoon for their final mission – to present and market their innovative food products containing pulses to a panel of judges.

First place was awarded to Dylan MacKay from the University of Manitoba for his “Pea-rogy,” a variation of the traditional perogy made with a chickpea and wheat flour dough and infused with mashed chickpea and potato filling. The higher fibre levels generated by the addition of chickpeas help to boost satiety, manage blood sugar levels and aid digestion. The Pea-rogy also contains more protein than the classic perogy.

Sharon Booy and Amy Symington from Toronto’s George Brown College were first runners- up with their “Pea Tart,” a savoury vegetarian and gluten-free gourmet tart with a chickpea flour crust, velvety white bean and white cheddar purée and topped with sautéed mushrooms, French green lentils and green peas.

Second runner-up was Douglas Wong from the University of Alberta with “YoPulse,” a pea protein-based, drinkable yogurt with no sugar added. With prebiotics and probiotics, YoPulse also contains seven per cent protein, nearly twice the amount of other yogurt drinks on the market

“These new innovations demonstrate the potential for pulses to be incorporated into a broad range of foods that will ultimately lead to a more diverse consumer base for Canadian pulses,” says Peter Watts, director of market innovation for Pulse Canada.

Judges for this year’s competition were Martin Chidwick, VP of Bissma Pacific, Bryan Kosteroski, value chain specialist at Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan, Michael Nickerson, SAF Research Chair in Protein Quality and Utilization at the University of Saskatchewan, and Vicky Dutton, partner of Western Grain Trade Ltd. The student teams were awarded $2,500, $1,000 and $500 from Bissma Pacific for first, second and third place.

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-PETER WATTS

“Thesenewinnovationsdemonstratethepotential forpulsestobeincorporatedintoabroadrange offoodsthatwillultimatelyleadtoamore diverseconsumerbaseforCanadianpulses.”