Unique manufacturing method produces more appealing vegan meat

Vegan food is often left behind because of its rubbery consistency. Food technology researchers at Sweden’s Lund University have now developed a way to make vegan food more appetizing by using a new combination of raw materials. Until now, the field of research into plant-based meat imitations, called meat adaptations, has been tiny — but now it’s poised to “explode.” Lund’s team is among those who have published the most research on the subject in the world.

Research is like cultivation around it Meat. However, instead use farm meat. cellworking with researchers. Plant protein Primarily as a means of simulating different muscle fibers.

Several crispy “meaty” plant-based products were recently reviewed. Some were highly rated, but one stood out as a winner. Texture and temperature are just as important as flavor to how food feels in the mouth.

“These are commonly referred to as the three ‘Ts’: texture, temperature and taste. Texture, or consistency, affects how much we like food, as much as taste, although we always work,” says Janet Porhagan.

I am a researcher. Food Technology Lund develops new ways to create appetizing foods from a variety of residual streams produced at Lund University and by the food industry—with benefits for the environment, climate, health and animals. Food composition is his area of ​​expertise.

Imitation of muscle fibers

Vegan foods currently in supermarkets—often imported I am protein. As a base ingredient, or other types of bean and veggie burgers—it lacks the fiber structure that people appreciate.

“For example, if you take a mashed potato and fry it, your teeth go straight through, it’s all soft and fluffy. When you chew the meat, it’s a completely different sensation. The technology With help, we want to introduce the habit of chewing. In vegetable-based foods, mimicking muscle fibers,” says colleague Karolina Ostbring.

‘Difficult but amazing when it works’

The production of the desired meat analog involves a complex piece of equipment called an extruder. It is the only equipment that can conform to meat with fine, long fibers. In short, it can be described as a combined pressure cooker and meat grinder.

Karolina Östbring and Jeanette Purhagen worked intensively with the instruments for five years. According to Östbring it is “incredibly complex”.

“My goodness, this is the most advanced equipment we have in our machine hall. That’s because there are so many parameters that can be set to so many levels. That means it’s difficult but amazing. When it works,” she says.

Now researchers have found the hang of the machine. Much has already been published, and more studies are underway.

Discovery saves 75% of energy consumption.

They have also made a discovery that saves a lot of energy and thus enables more climate-friendly products. Instead of the usual process of feeding the extruder with dry powder, they introduce the protein solution through an input that is actually pure water. This method skips the energy-intensive drying stage while the extruder uses less energy. Overall, Energy consumption There is a reduction of about 75%.

“It was not possible to patent this discovery, because the entire patent system is based on adding a step rather than removing and simplifying. So, now we have published this discovery,” says Janet Porhagan. are

This means that the Lund team is currently the only one to tailor meat in this way.

A combination produces the best results.

Finding the best combination of vegetable proteins to feed into the machine is just as important as finding the right settings for the extruder.

Researchers have experimented with, among other things, rapeseed, hemp, yellow peas, chickpeas, broad beans, oats and gluten (from wheat), often in the form of protein- and fiber-rich residues from agriculture. Food industryThis further adds to the environmental benefits.

“Give Fields of Research He’s starting to realize that one raw material can’t do the whole job, but you need to combine two or more raw materials to get a really good mouthfeel. Often you need a raw material that has added protein and a material that is part of the fiber, so that the product is not too rubbery,” says Carolina Ostbring.

Taste is also a challenge, as many plant components cause a bitter taste that can be difficult to filter out.

Favorite combination

So who was rated the highest?

“Hempseed behaves really well,” notes Carolina Oostbring, adding that industrial hemp is used, particularly the press cake left over from hemp oil production.

“This residue contains a lot of high-quality protein, has great textural properties and tastes great,” says Carolina Ostbring. “The plant can be grown in Sweden and what’s left can be used for textiles and building materials.”

Used with gluten, the hemp yielded a rounded flavor and a nice chewy texture that the panel appreciated. This collection was selected as a favorite.

The next best-ranked combination was hempseed and residues from oat milk production.

Although the researchers themselves are not commercializing the product, several companies are interested. This process can take two to five years.

Their related research has been published in the journal Food items, Journal of Food Engineering And LWT.