The present invention addresses the problem of providing a textured protein material which can enhance the fibrous texture of a processed food such as a product including meat or fish meat or a product including a vegetable raw material as a substitute therefor, has a high speed of water absorption, and can be used with ease. In this invention, it was found that a textured protein material having a favorable fibrous texture and a high speed of water absorption can be produced through the following steps (A) to (C), namely: (A) introducing a raw material including a protein raw material and water in an extruder, kneading and pressurizing and heating the raw material, and extruding the raw material under normal pressure from a die placed at an outlet of the extruder to organize the raw material and yield an organized product having a water content of 15-70 wt %; (B) cutting the organized product obtained in the step (A) perpendicularly to the direction of extrusion; and (C) slicing the organized product obtained in the step (B) into a flat shape using a circular slicer of a horizontal rotation type.

A bacon analogue or a reconstructed bacon product having a first component with about 42% lean meat, such as a lean pork muscle and about 58% fat and a second component with at least about 85% lean meat, such as a lean pork muscle is provided. The bacon analogue may have a ratio of first to second components of between about 35:65 to about 65:35 and a total fat percentage of about 28% to about 48%. In another configuration, the ratio of first to second components is about 25:75 to about 75:25. In one approach, the bacon analogue is free from alginate binders and free of emulsified meat. In one configuration, the first and the second components are ground to a size of about 0.125-inch to 0.5-inch. After the first and second components are separately mixed and cured, the components are pumped together into a marbled slab having an appearance similar to a pork-belly, which may then be sliced.

An expanded extruded high protein product comprising an extrudate of a composition comprising about 10-50% by dry weight of egg white and about 50-90% by dry weight of an edible starch, wherein the product has a moisture content of less than 8%, a protein content of at least 10%, and a density of less than 100 grams per liter.

A kamaboko-like food having a good texture can be produced by preparing a paste by mixing 1 to 20% by weight of a powdery vegetable protein, 1 to 8% by weight of gellan gum, 0.005 to 0.15% by weight of a divalent metal salt as a divalent metal, and 60 to 95% by weight of water, and molding and heating the paste. The powdery vegetable protein is preferably soybean protein. Additionally, the paste may also be molded uniformly to a thickness of 5 mm or less. By using this paste, a crab-flavored kamaboko-like food, which has many process restriction, can be produced.

An edible meat substitute product includes a fibrous mycelium mass in a range of 10 wt % to 100 wt %. The fibrous mycelium mass has a protein content greater than 40 wt % of a dry mass of the fibrous mycelium mass. The edible meat substitute product includes a water content in a range of 0 w % to 90 wt %.

The present invention relates to the creation of meat-analogs, including bacon or jerky. The present invention further can relate to the use of hydrocolloid gels or films as structural components of meat analog food products. Hydrocolloid gels or films are used in order to improve the similarity of meat analog food products to whole muscle cuts of meat and seafood, including animal sourced bacon.

The method for protein selection can include: characterizing a protein set, training a prediction model, determining target characteristic values, and determining a candidate protein set based on the target characteristic values.

The method for protein selection can include: characterizing a protein set, training a prediction model, determining target characteristic values, and determining a candidate protein set based on the target characteristic values.

The method for protein selection can include: characterizing a protein set, training a prediction model, determining target characteristic values, and determining a candidate protein set based on the target characteristic values.

An edible meat substitute product includes a fibrous mycelium mass in a range of 10 wt % to 100 wt %. The fibrous mycelium mass has a protein content greater than 40 wt % of a dry mass of the fibrous mycelium mass. The edible meat substitute product includes a water content in a range of 0 w % to 90 wt %.