MEAT ANALOGUE PRODUCT AND METHOD

Abstract

The invention provides a meat analogue product comprising from 10-60% by weight vegetable protein, at least 0.1% by weight of binding agent, from 10-60% by weight of water, and from 5-40% by weight of non-hydrogenated vegetable fat; wherein the non-hydrogenated vegetable fat has a saturated fatty acid (SAFA) content of at least 40% by weight, and a solid fat content (SFC) at 20° C. of at least 20%. The invention also provides a method for making the meat analogue product.

Claims

1. Meat Analogue product, comprising from 10-60% by weight vegetable protein; at least 0.1% by weight of binding agent; from 10-60% by weight of water; from 5-40% by weight of non-hydrogenated vegetable fat; wherein the vegetable fat has a saturated fatty acid (SAFA) content of at least 40%, and a solid fat content (SFC) at 20° C. of at least 20%.

2. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the amount of protein is from 15-50% by weight.

3. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the amount of fat is from 5-35% by weight.

4. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat has a monounsaturated fatty acid content of 20-40%.

5. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat has a polyunsaturated fatty acid content of less than 10% by weight.

6. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat has a solid fat content at 20° C. of at least 30%.

7. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat has a fatty acid content having a C12 content of less than 10% by weight.

8. Meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat has a fatty acid content wherein the sum of C16:0 and C18:0 is at least 40%.

9. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein (i) the vegetable fat has a fatty acid content having at least 40% C16:0; and/or (ii) the vegetable fat comprises at least 40% C18:0.

10. Meat analogue product according to claim 9, wherein the vegetable fat comprises palm stearin, or interesterified palm stearin.

11. Meat analogue product according to claim 10, wherein the vegetable fat comprises at least one fat derived from shea, illipe, sal, kokum, allanblackia and mango.

12. Meat analogue according to claim 10, wherein the vegetable fat comprise less than 1% by weight of fat components derived from palm oil.

13. Meat analogue product according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable fat comprises shea stearin.

14. Method for the preparation of a meat analogue product according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: providing protein of vegetable origin; providing at least one binding agent; providing water; providing a non-hydrogenated vegetable fat, having a saturated fatty acid content of at least 40%, and a solid fat content at 20 degrees C. of at least 20%; mixing the protein, binding agent, water and non-hydrogenated vegetable fat.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the vegetable fat is provided as flakes or as a dry powder.

Description

EXAMPLE 1

[0044] Three fats for testing were prepared from commercially available sources. Fat A is an interesterified palm stearin, prepared by chemical interesterification of a blend of 90% palm oil stearin IV 35 and 10% palm oil stearin IV 4. Fat B is a shea stearin, selected to have a similar SAFA value as Fat A. For standardization, the shea stearin can be mixed with a liquid oil, preferably shea olein. Fat C is a reference fat, consisting of a blend of 75% sunflower oil and 25% coconut oil. Fat C was selected as a reference as it has properties comparable to the coconut oil-based fat components used in several meat analogue products, comparable for example with the coconut/canola examples described in WO2017070303 (Beyond Meat).

TABLE-US-00001 Fat A Fat B Fat C (ref) Interesterified Shea Sunflower 75% - Parameter Unit Palm Stearin stearin Coconut 25% IVFAME g/100 g 31.5 32.0 98.2 SAFA % 69.3 65.6 29.6 MUFA % 24.9 31.4 26.9 PUFA % 5.8 2.9 43.3 trans % <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 C8:0 % 0.0 0.0 1.4 C10:0 % 0.0 0.0 1.2 C12:0 % 0.3 0.2 10.9 C14:0 % 1.3 0.1 4.6 C16:0 % 61.2 4.0 7.2 C18:0 % 5.7 59.2 3.2 C18:1 % 24.7 31.4 26.7 C18:2 % 5.6 2.8 43.2 C20:0 % 0.4 1.7 0.2 SFC 0° % 98 18.3 SFC 5° % 14.4 SFC 10° % 94 91 6.9 SFC 15° % 72 1.4 SFC 20° % 72 82.2 0.0 SFC 25° % 61 76.2 0.0 SFC 30° % 49 64.8 0.0 SFC 35° % 42 8.3 0.0 SFC 40° % 30 2.5 0.0 SFC 45° % 10

[0045] In the Above Table:

[0046] 1. IV FAME refers to calculated iodine value according to ROCS Cd 1 c-85;

[0047] 2. SAFA refers to saturated fatty acids;

[0048] 3. MUFA refers to mono-unsaturated fatty acid;

[0049] 4. PUFA refers to poly-unsaturated fatty acid;

[0050] 5. TRANS refers to trans fatty acids: unsaturated fatty acids having a double bond in a trans arrangement.

[0051] 6. Cx:y refers to a fatty acid having x carbon atoms and y double bonds; levels determined by GC-FAME (ISO 12966-2: 2014 and ISO 12966-4: 2015)

[0052] 7. S20-Nx refers to solid fat content determined by NMR on unstabilized fat measured at x° C. according to ISO 8292-1.

EXAMPLE 2: MEAT DOUGH PRODUCT PREPARATION

[0053] Meat products in the form of a meat dough were prepared according to the recipe below, wherein the added fat was either Fat A, fat B, or reference fat C. Fat A was provided in the form of flakes, and could be added conveniently as dry matter. Fat C was somewhat inconvenient to handle at room temperature and was first heated until 60° C. and subsequently poured into the mixture as a liquid.

TABLE-US-00002 Relative Amounts g Ingredient Mungbeans (cooked) 27 Broth 25 Wheat gluten 10 Super pea protein isolate 10 Bread crumbs 4 Potato starch 4 Tomato puree 6 Additives Burger spices (no salt) 2.5 Yeast extract 1.5 salt 0.5 Paprika powder 1 Smoke flavor 0.2

[0054] The fat was mixed into the mixture with the use of a Hobart mixer with the other dry ingredients and the additives were added. Subsequently the mungbeans, tomato puree and broth were added during mixing until a homogeneous dough was obtained.

[0055] Mungbeans and super pea protein isolate are the main protein sources in the recipe. The wheat gluten, bread crumbs, potato starch and tomato puree form a binder component, but alternative biding agents could be used. Broth (based on 20 g dry material per 100 g) is added for tastiness and a source of water. Tomato puree, apart from having some binding properties, also contributes to color and taste. The other additives are contributing to the taste.

[0056] Total food constituents composition of the uncooked meat dough was calculated based on the basis of the constituents of the ingredients based on the data as documented by the ingredient supplier. Some of the ingredients contain minor amounts of fat, hence the total fat amount is slightly higher than the added fats A or B.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE Calculated food composition of uncooked meat-replacer dough Amounts g/100 g Fat 15 Incl. Saturated fat 7 Carbohydrates 14 Incl. Sugars 3 Protein 19 Salt 1 Dietary fibers 2 Water 49

EXAMPLE 3: COOKING AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF THE COOKED MEAT ANALOGUE PRODUCT

[0057] The meat dough below can be used in many different forms ready for further cooking, baking or grilling. For the sensory evaluation, the meat dough was processed in the form of 40 g burgers, that were preheated at 80° for 15 minutes and then cooled down to room temperature. Prior to serving, the burgers were baked under controlled temperature and baking duration. The freshly baked products were tested for the following organoleptic properties.

[0058] Properties Tested by a Trained Test Panel:

[0059] 1. Firmness/Hardness: indicates how firm a product feels when biting of a piece, ranging from no resistance to a firm texture.

[0060] 2. Chewiness/Bite: means how long a part of product of predetermined size needs to be chewed before able to swallow, ranging from ‘chewy’ to ‘tender’.

[0061] 3. Cohesiveness: Is the product falling apart or is it staying together in the mouth, ranging from products that readily fall apart to products that stay together.

[0062] 4. Springiness/resilience: Is the product going back in the original shape or does it stay deformed after applying mechanical pressure with the teeth (without biting through the product)? Ranging from products that stay deformed to products that return to their original shape.

[0063] 5. Mouth feel: means how texture of the sample feels in the mouth, ranging from ‘dislike’ to ‘pleasant’.

[0064] 6. oiliness/fat: does the sample feel fat or oily in the mouth, ranging from ‘oily’ where the fatty component disappears rapidly from the mouth after eating, to products denoted as ‘waxy’, wherein the fatty component lingers in the mouth after eating.

[0065] 7. Juiciness: refers to how moist the sample feels in the mouth and how much moisture release is experienced in the mouth after chewing. Ranging from ‘dry’ to ‘juicy’.

[0066] 8. Total appreciation: The overall judgement of the sample compared to reference, ranging from ‘dislike’ to ‘appreciated’.

[0067] The burgers were tested by a trained test panel. Both fats A and B had a better total appreciation than the reference fat C. The results are shown in spider plot FIG. 1.

[0068] Fat A showed a relatively higher firmness, cohesiveness, springiness, mouthfeel and oiliness, and a lower Chewiness and Juiciness that the reference fat C. In particular, fat scored better on Cohesiveness and Springiness.

[0069] Fat B showed a relatively higher firmness, cohesiveness, springiness, mouthfeel and oiliness, Chewiness and Juiciness than the reference fat C, wherein Firmness, Cohesiveness, Cohesiveness and Mouthfeel stood out in particular.

[0070] Comparing Fat A and B, the non-palm fat B had a higher total appreciation than Fat A, and scored in particular better on Chewiness, Mouthfeel and Juiciness.