GATE Pulses, Oilseeds & Plant Protein Technology: practice questions

GATE — Life Sciences (XL), Section U Food Technology · India · IITs and IISc on rotation (2026: IIT Guwahati)

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers

10worked here, free

19written to this exam in this subject

12syllabus units

What this subject covers

Turning legumes and oilseeds into foods and protein ingredients: dehulling and splitting, removal of anti-nutritional factors, traditional legume products, soy foods, and protein concentrates and isolates and their functional properties.

In the exams: ICAR AICE 35.a Unit 2 (pulses, oilseeds, protein concentrates and isolates, dairy analogues); GATE XE-G Section 3 (oil processing)

Structure and composition of pulses and oilseeds
Anti-nutritional factors in legumes and oilseeds and their removal
Dehulling and splitting of pulses
Soaking, germination, cooking, roasting and fermentation of legumes
Traditional pulse products
Soybean processing: soy milk, tofu and fermented soy foods
Oilseed meals and cakes as food ingredients
Protein concentrates and isolates: extraction and purification
Functional properties of plant proteins
Textured vegetable protein
Plant-based dairy analogues
Peanut and other nut processing

What GATE asks from it

GATE — Engineering Sciences (XE), Section G Food Technology

Section 3 oil processing and product technology; expect items on oilseed meals, soybean processing and protein isolate steps alongside oil extraction questions.

GATE — Life Sciences (XL), Section U Food Technology

Same Section 3 content; protein chemistry and functionality often framed through isoelectric points, solubility and gelation.

Where the 19 questions fall

How our questions for GATE spread across the units of Pulses, Oilseeds & Plant Protein Technology. Difficulty: 10 easy, 5 medium, 4 hard.

Soybean processing: soy milk, tofu and fermented soy foods	3
Structure and composition of pulses and oilseeds	2
Anti-nutritional factors in legumes and oilseeds and their removal	2
Dehulling and splitting of pulses	2
Soaking, germination, cooking, roasting and fermentation of legumes	2
Protein concentrates and isolates: extraction and purification	2
Traditional pulse products	1
Oilseed meals and cakes as food ingredients	1
Functional properties of plant proteins	1
Textured vegetable protein	1
Plant-based dairy analogues	1
Peanut and other nut processing	1

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · Structure and composition of pulses and oilseeds · easy

The cotyledons make up about what proportion of a pulse seed?

8–15%
85–90%
40–50%
98–99%

Answer and working

B. 85–90%

The hull is about 8–15%.

Further reading: Salunkhe and Kadam, Handbook of World Food Legumes

2 · Dehulling and splitting of pulses · easy

Which pulse is notably difficult to dehull because gums bind the husk to the cotyledons?

Pigeon pea
Masoor lentil
Pea
Chickpea

Answer and working

A. Pigeon pea

Black gram and green gram are also difficult.

Further reading: Chakraverty, Post Harvest Technology of Cereals, Pulses and Oilseeds

3 · Dehulling and splitting of pulses · hard

1,000 kg of pigeon pea gives 720 kg of dal. What is the dal yield?

28%
72%
85%
139%

Answer and working

B. 72%

720/1,000 × 100 = 72%; 28% is the loss fraction.

Further reading: Chakraverty, Post Harvest Technology of Cereals, Pulses and Oilseeds

4 · Soaking, germination, cooking, roasting and fermentation of legumes · medium

Idli batter is leavened mainly by:

Baker's yeast added to the batter
Lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Aspergillus oryzae growing on the rice
Sodium bicarbonate added before steaming

Answer and working

B. Lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides

Black gram mucilage holds the gas.

Further reading: Tiwari, Gowen and McKenna, Pulse Foods

5 · Soaking, germination, cooking, roasting and fermentation of legumes · easy

Tempeh is made by fermenting cooked soybeans with:

Rhizopus oligosporus
Aspergillus oryzae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Bacillus subtilis var. natto

Answer and working

A. Rhizopus oligosporus

Natto uses Bacillus subtilis; koji uses Aspergillus oryzae.

Further reading: Tiwari, Gowen and McKenna, Pulse Foods

6 · Soybean processing: soy milk, tofu and fermented soy foods · easy

The insoluble residue left after filtering soy milk is called:

Yuba
Miso paste
Okara
Tofu

Answer and working

C. Okara

Okara is used in foods and feed.

Further reading: Liu, Soybeans: Chemistry, Technology, and Utilization

7 · Soybean processing: soy milk, tofu and fermented soy foods · medium

Which coagulant gives silken tofu by slow acidification?

Glucono-delta-lactone
Common sodium chloride
Magnesium chloride
Calcium sulphate

Answer and working

A. Glucono-delta-lactone

GDL hydrolyses slowly to gluconic acid.

Further reading: Liu, Soybeans: Chemistry, Technology, and Utilization

8 · Functional properties of plant proteins · medium

Legume proteins are least soluble at about:

pH 9–10
pH 4–5
pH 2
pH 7

Answer and working

B. pH 4–5

Their isoelectric region.

Further reading: Fennema's Food Chemistry, proteins chapter

9 · Plant-based dairy analogues · medium

Plant-based beverages are commonly fortified with:

Sodium, potassium and chloride
Vitamin C, vitamin K and zinc
Iron, iodine and fluoride
Calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12

Answer and working

D. Calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12

They naturally supply little of these compared with milk.

Further reading: Nadathur et al., Sustainable Protein Sources

10 · Peanut and other nut processing · easy

Colour sorting of groundnut kernels is important mainly because it removes:

Kernels with the highest protein
Kernels carrying most of the aflatoxin
Kernels that are too large
Kernels with the most oil

Answer and working

B. Kernels carrying most of the aflatoxin

Damaged and discoloured kernels carry most of it.

Further reading: Woodroof, Peanuts; FDA almond pasteurisation rule

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