Provided is a homogeneous composition comprising protein, wherein at least 1 wt % of a total protein content is bacterial protein: and a carrier selected from the group consisting of water, oil and a combination thereof, wherein a total protein content in the composition is at least 25 wt % or wherein the composition comprises at least one animal protein and a total protein content in the composition is at least 5 wt % of the total composition. Further provided are food ingredients and food products comprising the composition.

A food product and/or an ingredient thereof can include: a lipid component, structured protein isolates, and/or any other ingredients. The method for forming structured protein isolates can include: obtaining protein isolate units from a protein source, and collecting the structured protein isolates.

Provided are a method of producing a protein food material, the method including: kneading a protein-containing mixture containing a vegetable protein and water by pressurizing and heating the protein-containing mixture in an extrusion section of a twin screw extruder; and after kneading, extruding the kneaded protein-containing mixture while swelling the kneaded protein-containing mixture inside a discharge die mounted at a downstream end of the extrusion section in an extrusion direction, a protein food material, and a molded meat alternative.

The present disclosure relates to high protein, ready-to-eat flattened food pieces, compositions including such food pieces, and methods of making such food pieces. The food pieces include at least 70% by dry weight protein, where the protein ingredients include a base protein blend that makes up at least 60% by dry weight of the protein ingredients. The base protein blend includes sodium caseinate and one or more of legume protein isolate, legume protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, or milk protein concentrate.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a yeast protein concentrate, said method comprising the lysis of yeast cells in a suspension that was adjusted to a particular pH prior to lysis, subsequently subjecting the soluble fraction obtained from lysis to filtration to reduce the content of molecules smaller than 30 kDa, and optionally drying the solution obtained from filtration. The present invention further relates to a yeast protein concentrate obtainable by the method of the invention. The yeast protein concentrate comprises a high amount of proteins which are still folded and are therefore capable of aggregation to form a solid protein matrix upon heating. In addition, the yeast protein concentrate of the invention will be of unobtrusive taste and is therefore particularly suited for use in the preparation of food items, such as meat substitute products.

Vegan cheese analogues (VCA) are disclosed that are made from legume derived and/or legume based ingredients. Pea flour can be used where pre-treatment or engineered blending delivers specific functionality to the VCA. The addition of different components such as glycerol monostearate, various starches, various fibres, various oils, and various acids give properties to these VCA's that more closely mimic traditional dairy based cheeses relative to the prior art VCAs.

The present disclosure relates generally to non-animal proteins and their use in various comestible products, such as food products, beverage products, and nutritional products, including meat and dairy analogue products. In some embodiments, the non-animal proteins include fava bean protein, mung bean protein, lentil protein, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the non-animal proteins are combined with other non-animal proteins, such as soy protein or pea protein, to compliment the amino acid profile of the resulting blend. In some embodiments. The non-animal proteins are combined with certain fibers, which allows the blend to be suitable for addition to an ingestible composition useful for making meat or dairy analogue products. In some embodiments, flavorings or flavor-modifiers are combined with the non-animal proteins as well.

A food product and/or an ingredient thereof can include: a lipid component, structured protein isolates, and/or any other ingredients. The method for forming structured protein isolates can include: obtaining protein isolate units from a protein source and collecting the structured protein isolates. In variants, the method can function to produce: a food product with target characteristics (e.g., stretchy and/or meltable characteristics), a replacement (e.g., analog) for a target food product, an ingredient used to manufacture a food product, and/or any other product.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a yeast protein concentrate, said method comprising the lysis of yeast cells in a suspension that was adjusted to a particular pH prior to lysis, subsequently subjecting the soluble fraction obtained from lysis to filtration to reduce the content of molecules smaller than 30 kDa, and optionally drying the solution obtained from filtration. The present invention further relates to a yeast protein concentrate obtainable by the method of the invention. The yeast protein concentrate comprises a high amount of proteins which are still folded and are therefore capable of aggregation to form a solid protein matrix upon heating. In addition, the yeast protein concentrate of the invention will be of unobtrusive taste and is therefore particularly suited for use in the preparation of food items, such as meat substitute products.

Methods of producing substitute dairy food product that are animal-free are provided. The methods include preparing an aqueous protein solution using a recombinant protein, selectively denaturing the recombinant protein under conditions that cause an increase in viscosity, and acidifying the mixture to thereby produce a substitute dairy food product. Such substitute dairy food products can be further optimized with nutrients, fats and minerals to produce animal-free dairy foods that substantially mimic animal-derived dairy foods.