Proteinaceous meat analogue having an improved texture and an extended shelf-life

Abstract

An extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue comprising vegetable proteins, including at least wheat gluten, and a plasticizer. Said proteinaceous meat analogue has a water content of less than 20% (w/w) and a torque value at 10 mn of at least 10 gram meter (g*m), as determined by a test A. A method for obtaining an extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue comprises the steps of (i) mixing vegetable proteins, including at least vital wheat gluten, and a plasticizer for obtaining a dough, and (ii) heating said dough, wherein said extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue has a water content of less than 20% (w/w). A foodstuff comprises said extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue and the method for obtaining said foodstuff.

Claims

1. An extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue having a shelf-life of at least 60 days, wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue is directly obtained by a method comprising the steps of: mixing, without adding water, at a temperature of less than 100° C.: i) 30 to 90% (w/w) on dry mass of powdered vegetable proteins, ii) 10 to 40% (w/w) on dry mass of a non-aqueous plasticizer, and optionally iii) fibers for obtaining a dough; shaping said dough; and static heating said dough between 120 and 160° C. under atmospheric pressure for 1 minute to 1 hour, thereby obtaining an extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue having a shelf-life of at least 60 days, wherein said powdered vegetable proteins comprise more than 50% (w/w) of vital wheat gluten (VWG), wherein said non-aqueous plasticizer is selected from the group consisting of: a polyhydroxy alcohol, a starch hydrolysate, a carboxylic acid, and combinations thereof, wherein said powdered vegetable proteins have a water content of less than 15% (w/w), wherein said non-aqueous plasticizer has a water content of less than 20% (w/w), wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue has a water content of less than 20% (w/w), and wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue has a torque value at 10 min of at least 10 gram meter or a ratio torque value at 30 sec/torque value at 10 min of 1 to 1.5, as determined by a Test A.

2. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the mixing step comprises mixing: 40 to 85% (w/w) on dry mass of said powdered vegetable proteins, 10 to 40% (w/w) on dry mass of said non-aqueous plasticizer, and 0 to 8% (w/w) on dry mass of fibers.

3. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein said powdered vegetable proteins are a mixture of vital wheat gluten (VWG) and vegetable proteins from at least one origin selected from the group consisting of: potato, lupine, soya, pea, chick pea plants, alfalfa, faba bean, lentil, bean, rapeseed, sunflower, cereals, and combinations thereof.

4. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 3, wherein the cereals are selected from the group consisting of corn, barley, malt, oats, and combinations thereof.

5. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the mixing step comprises mixing: 30 to 90% (w/w) of vital wheat gluten (VWG) powder, 10 to 40% (w/w) of said non-aqueous plasticizer, 0 to 40% (w/w) of vegetable proteins other than VWG, and 0 to 8% (w/w) of fibers.

6. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the fibers are insoluble fibers.

7. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 6, wherein said fibers are insoluble fibers from cereal, tuber, seed, or leguminosae.

8. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the shaping step comprises at least cutting, sheeting, agglomerating and/or molding said dough.

9. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein the shaping step comprises at least cutting said dough in dough pieces and agglomerating the dough pieces by hydrating and by mixing the dough pieces to obtain an agglomerate having a water content between 5 and 30% (w/w).

10. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 9, wherein said agglomerate has a water content between 7 and 25% (w/w).

11. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 10, wherein said agglomerate has a water content between 10 and 20% (w/w).

12. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein a food product, a food additive and/or a processed food is added during the mixing step.

13. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein said non-aqueous plasticizer is glycerol.

14. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue does not comprise any binder selected from the group consisting of eggs, xanthan, starch, and combinations thereof.

15. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 14, wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue does not comprise any binder.

16. The proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1, wherein said proteinaceous meat analogue is vegan.

17. A foodstuff comprising the extended shelf-life proteinaceous analogue according to claim 1.

18. A ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue, wherein said ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue is directly obtained by a method comprising the steps of: obtaining an extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 1; hydrating said proteinaceous meat analogue; optionally, cooking said hydrated proteinaceous meat analogue; and obtaining a ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue, wherein said ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue has a torque value at 10 min of at least 10 gram meter or a ratio torque value at 30 sec/torque value at 10 min of 1 to 1.5, as determined by a Test B.

19. The ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 18, wherein the method comprises hydrating said extended shelf-life proteinaceous meat analogue until a water content of more than 50% (w/w) is reached.

20. A foodstuff comprising the ready-to-eat proteinaceous meat analogue according to claim 18.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1. Comparison of torque values between commercial products and product according to the invention (P3 6% fibers)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Examples

Example 1: Preparation of Wheat Gluten Based Products of the Invention

(2) Vital wheat gluten powder (AMYGLUTEN®) (75 parts), glycerol (100%)(25 parts) and wheat fibre (VITACELL® 400) (0, 3 or 6 parts) are continuously mixed together in a twin screw extruder (Werner & Pfleiderer ZSK25) at a temperature of 65° C., and shaped and cut to obtain small particles with a ZGF30 pelletizer (Werner & Pfleiderer). These particles can then be stored at room temperature, without risk of spoilage. Three different kinds of products (A1, A2, and A3) are obtained, having a different content of fibres (0, 3 and 6%).

(3) Agglomerates of these particles are prepared by spraying 3 parts of water over the particles, and manually pressing the hydrated particles together into a mould having the shape of a pork chop. The agglomerates obtained are then fried in cooking oil at 150° C. for 5 minutes, thereby providing products P1, P2 and P3.

Example 2: Chewing and Bite Properties of Meat Analogues, and Meat Products

(4) The products prepared in example 1 were hydrated and then cooked in boiling water for 20 minutes, resulting in products containing 60-65% water (35-40% dry substance). Products differed in fibre content whereby P1 contained 0% fibre, P2 contained 3% fibre and P3 contained 6% fibre on dry substance.

(5) The texture analysis was made in a Brabender Plastograph, type EC equipped with a type 50 measuring head and a mixing chamber comprising two counter-rotating identical sigma shaped mixing blades (references of the blades: Sigma (S)). 70 g of cube shaped samples (15*15 mm) are introduced in the mixing chamber thermo-stated at 37° C. and measurement is obtained by counter-rotating the mixing blades at differential speeds of 34 rpm and 22.67 rpm (34*2/3).

(6) The torque values were recorded and compared with cooked meat products such as cooked beef, cooked chicken and cooked schnitzel. Also torque values for meat analogues available in commerce, such as SEITAN, and commercial products such as “VIANA” cowgirl veggie steak, and “TOPAZ” Wheaty Vegankebab Döner were compared with the products of the invention. All these products were also cooked in boiling water for 20 minutes.

(7) In the following table, torque values are given after 30 seconds, 10 minutes and 14 minutes for all the above cited products.

(8) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Comparative analysis of torque values of meat pieces (beef, chicken, schnitzel) and meat analogues of the market (SEITAN, TOPAZ, VIANA) and of the invention at 30 sec, 10 min and 14 min. Torque (g * m) after 30 sec 10 min 14 min Cooked beef 70 35 32 Cooked chicken 30 20 18 Cooked schnitzel 13 13 11 Comm. Product 1 13 7 7 Comm. Product 2 15 8 7 Seitan 10 5 5 P1 13 12 10 P2 14 13 13 P3 17 14 13

(9) A sensorial evaluation of the cooked pieces has been done in order to evaluate their textural properties compared with the measured values: Cooked beef is experienced as quite hard in bite (as expected for a beef cooked for 20 min in water). This observation is confirmed by the torque results which are very high at 30 sec, a slight reduction is observed at 10 and 14 mn, Cooked chicken is experienced softer in bite than beef but still on the hard side. The torque values show quite constant results confirming the sensory evaluation. Cooked schnitzel is experienced as having a nice texture in a well-balanced equilibrium between hardness and softness of the texture The commercial products 1 and 2 were good in the first bite but lost structure very soon after the first bite and got too soft, the commercial products 1 and 2 shows a ratio torque value at 30 sec/torque value at 10 mn of 1.9 which indicate a quick loss of texture in the mouth. Commercial SEITAN product was too soft from the very first bite, all the torque values of SEITAN are below 10 g*m, which seems to be too soft for a tasty meat analogue.

(10) The examples of the invention (P1, P2 and P3) were considered as very nice in the first bite and also maintained a good texture during chewing.

(11) The results clearly show that measured torque values correspond well to the experience of eating the test pieces. Indeed, it is clear that the products of the invention do show much better chewing and bite properties than actually commercialised wheat gluten based meat analogues.

(12) At the same time these values illustrate that the products of the invention approach chewing and bite properties of natural meat products.

Example 3

(13) Vital wheat gluten powder (AMYTEX®)(50 parts), glycerol (100%)(33 parts), chick pea flour (13 parts) and wheat fibre (VITACEL® WF200) (4 parts) are continuously mixed together in a twin screw extruder (Werner & Pfleiderer ZSK25) at a temperature of 65° C., and shaped and cut to obtain small particles with a ZGF30 pelletizer (Werner & Pfleiderer), thereby providing product A4. These particles can then be stored at room temperature, without risk of spoilage.

(14) Agglomerates of these particles are prepared by spraying 11 parts of water over the particles, and manually pressing the hydrated particles together into a mould of 15 mm thickness, thereby providing product W4. The product is then fried in cooking oil at 150° C. for 10 minutes, thereby providing the product P4, and hydrated for 48 hours in water, resulting in products containing 60-65% water (35-40% dry substance). This product is prepared and analyzed with the Plastograph as described in example 2.

(15) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Analysis of torque value of the product of the invention at 30 sec, 10 min and 14 min. Torque (g * m) after 30 sec 10 min 14 min P4 16 10 10

(16) The nutritional content of the meat analogue of the invention was calculated and then compared to the ones of the meat analogue of the market (see table 3)

(17) By comparing the product of the invention to the ones of the market based on wheat, pea or soy proteins, it can be seen that the product of the invention has a very low content in lipids but a high content in fibers, proteins and carbohydrates giving to this product a very nice nutritional profile.

(18) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Nutritional analysis of the soy, pea, or wheat based meat analogues of the market and the one of the invention Carbo Gross Moisture Proteins Fibres Fat Salt hydrates Sugars Energy Overall g/ g/ g/ g/ g/ g/ g/ KJ/ composition 100 g 100 g 100 g 100 g 100 g 100 g 100 g 100 g Ready- P4 (calculated) 65.0 22.4 3.8 2.0 0.2 6.5 0.7 594.0 to-eat product of invention Wheat Seitan 55.5 31.4 6.6 2.1 4.1 0.3 869.0 protein medaillons based DAS Schnitzel 51.6 25.1 9.4 2.5 9.2 2.2 969.0 products Frankenberger 53.1 25.6 12.0 1.4 6.2 1.7 981.0 Weenies 49.0 30.6 14.6 1.7 3.7 0.4 1123.0 Kebab gyros 53.7 26.4 12.4 2.5 3.5 1.5 993.0 Soy or Beefy crumble 63.6 23.6 1.8 9.1 1.2 1.8 1.8 837.4 pea Feisty crumble 63.6 23.6 1.8 9.1 1.2 1.8 1.8 837.4 protein crumble products griled strips 68.2 23.5 1.2 5.9 0.8 1.2 1.2 591.1 lightly 65.9 23.5 2.4 3.5 0.8 4.7 0.0 591.1 seasoned strips Beast Burger 59.3 20.4 3.5 14.2 0.8 2.7 0.0 963.3 Tofu Natur 70.6 16.9 1.5 9.9 0.0 0.4 0.7 684.0 Bjorg

Example 4: Different Cooking Conditions

(19) The product W4 from example 3 is cut in pieces of 20×20 mm and cooked in several conditions.

(20) The pieces are fried for 15 min either at 110° C. or at 150° C. or at 185° C. The pieces are cooked in an oven at 150° C. either for 15 min or for 30 min. The pieces are cooked in boiling water (100° C.) for 15 min. All these cooked products are then hydrated for 48 hours in water and tasted after cooking in a pan for 5 minutes.

(21) The products cooked at 150° C. (in the oven or in the fryer) were good in texture and have a nice yellow to light brown color.

(22) The product cooked at 185° C. is very dark (brownish, nearly black). Moreover, this product was found more spongy and softer in texture than products cooked at 150° C.

(23) The products fried at 110° C. or boiled at 100° C. are found very white in appearance, so not attractive for a consumer and their texture was much softer than products cooked at 150° C.

Example 5: Vegan Wiener Schnitzel

(24) Agglomerates of the product A4 from example 3 are prepared by spraying 11 parts of water over the product A4. Then, the agglomerates are grinded continuously through a Hobart meat grinder attachment (Hobart A200N, plate of #12⅛″), thereby providing multiples strands.

(25) These multiples strands are cut in portions of 100 mm length. Each portion is passed through a manual dough sheeter set with a thickness between the steel cylinders of 1 to 3 mm in order to form a schnitzel having dimensions of up to about 300 mm in diameter and of 4 to 7 mm in thickness.

(26) The product is then fried in cooking oil at 150° C. for 15 minutes and hydrated for 48 hours in a vegetable broth (one vegetable bouillon cube of 11 g for 500 mL of water).

(27) This product is then rolled in a mix of flour, yeast flakes, salt and water. Then, it is rolled in bread crumbs and fried at 170° C. for 5 minutes or cooked in a pan for 5 minutes in order to prepare a vegan Wiener schnitzel.

(28) The obtained Wiener Schnitzel is very nice in taste, texture and appearance. It has a crusty crumb with a firm but still tender bite.

Example 6: Product of Invention in a Complete Dish

(29) Agglomerates of the product A4 from example 3 are prepared by spraying 11 parts of water over the product A4. Then, the agglomerates are grinded continuously through a Hobart meat grinder attachment (Hobart A200N, plate of #12⅛″), thereby providing multiples strands.

(30) These multiples strands are passed continuously through a manual dough sheeter set with a thickness between the steel cylinders of 5 mm, thereby providing a continuous strip of 15 mm thickness and 150 mm width. Pieces of 15 mm×30 mm are cut from this strip.

(31) These pieces are then fried in cooking oil at 150° C. for 15 minutes and hydrated for 48 hours in a vegetable broth (one vegetable bouillon cube of 11 g for 500 mL of water).

(32) The hydrated pieces (1280 g) were cooked with: 80 g of Chinese dried black mushrooms (hydrated in excess of warm tap water) 1.6 L of Coconut milk 0.8 L of Coconut cream 150 g of Ginger (minced in SEB Optimo cutter) 100 g of Lemon Grass (cut in pieces) 50 g green curry 50 g Basil (cut in fine pieces) 50 g of Soy sauce 2 g dried lime grass 100 mL of sunflower oil

(33) The whole recipe was cooked on gentle heat and stirred for 30 min.

(34) Upon stirring and heating, pieces remain entire without any disintegration. The whole dish is very attractive in appearance and taste.

Example 7: Sausages Containing Carrots, Parsnips and Leek

(35) 600 g of product A4 from example 3 are mixed with 150 g of leek, 125 g of carrots and 125 g of parsnips in a Stephan cutter (UM 12 V Type). The mixture is then formed into sausages with a Bomann meat grinder (FW 443 CB Type) equipped with a sausage filling funnel and cellulose casings (Viscofan, composed of 65% regenerated cellulose, 18% glycerine, 15% eau and 2% oil). After removing the casings, the sausages are cooked in a Miele steam oven at 121° C. for 15 min, hydrated for 48 h and grilled in a pan. The obtained sausages have an attractive texture and color.

Example 8: Vegan Meat Balls

(36) 740 g of product A4 from example 3 are mixed with 150 g cashew nuts, 100 g of water and 10 g of salt in a Stephan cutter (UM 12 V Type). The mixture is then formed through a Bomann meat grinder (FW 443 CB Type) and a very cohesive vegetable minced meat is obtained. The minced meat is formed by hand into “meat” balls The so formed meat balls are fried in oil at 150° C. for 15 min, hydrated thereafter in excess water and cooked in a pan. The obtained meat balls have an attractive taste, texture and appearance.

Example 9: Vegan Hamburgers

(37) 690 g of product A4 from example 3 are mixed with 300 g of carrots and 10 g of salt in a Stephan cutter (UM 12 V Type). The mixture is then formed into hamburgers using a Bomann meat grinder (FW 443 CB Type) and a hamburger shape. The so formed hamburgers are fried in oil at 150° C. for 15 min, hydrated thereafter in excess water and cooked in a pan. The obtained hamburgers have an attractive taste, texture and appearance. The carrot pieces can still be distinguished in the product and are very strongly embedded in the vegetable protein matrix.