Devising new meat alternatives with 3D printing -- and cocoa butter


Date:
December 8, 2021
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
No longer just a dream of vegetarians and vegans, fake
meat is becoming more widely available in grocery stores and
restaurants. And more options are almost certainly on the way. One
team has now developed a new combination of plant-based ingredients
tailored for 3D printing meat alternatives. Their most successful
recipes required an odd-sounding addition: cocoa butter, derived
from cocoa beans of chocolate fame.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
No longer just a dream of vegetarians and vegans, fake meat is becoming
more widely available in grocery stores and restaurants. And more options
are almost certainly on the way. In a study reported in ACS Food Science
& Technology, one team has developed a new combination of plant-based ingredients tailored for 3D printing meat alternatives. Their most
successful recipes required an odd- sounding addition: cocoa butter,
derived from cocoa beans of chocolate fame.


==========================================================================
From animal welfare to environmental sustainability, there are plenty
of reasons people choose to avoid eating meat derived from animals. Many current meat alternatives rely on plant-based proteins, most often from
soy and wheat, which can readily mimic the texture and nutritional value
of the real thing.

While 3D printing has already been tested for meat alternatives,
none of the current formulations include proteins from these particular
plants. So, Songbai Liu and Shanshan Wang wanted to figure out an approach
to making a meat "dough" with soy and wheat protein that could be produced effectively with a 3D printer.

The researchers tested soy and wheat proteins in formulations containing several other ingredients using a 3D printer. They evaluated their
concoctions based on the accuracy with which the dough could be laid
down by the printer and how well it held its form. They also examined
its texture and microstructure. The experiments revealed the importance
of several additional ingredients, including the emulsifier Tween-80
and sodium alginate to control the texture. Heat-sensitive cocoa butter
turned out to be a particularly important ingredient, making the dough
more fluid at warm temperatures for printing, but then hardening afterward
at room temperature, allowing the dough to retain its printed shape. One drawback, however, is that people who cannot eat wheat gluten or soy
because of allergies or celiac disease would not be able to partake of
the new alternatives. To address this issue, the researchers attempted
to replace the soy protein with that from peas, but the resulting dough
was too soft for printing. Even so, these experiments have identified
a new strategy for formulating meat alternatives using this versatile technology, according to the researchers.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Key Research and
Development Program, the Zhejiang Public Welfare Technology Research
Program, the Qinghai Science and Technology Program and the Foundation
of Fuli Institute of Food Science at Zhejiang University.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Chemical_Society. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Shanshan Wang, Songbai Liu. 3D Printing of Soy Protein- and
Gluten-Based
Gels Facilitated by Thermosensitive Cocoa Butter in a Model
Study. ACS Food Science & Technology, 2021; 1 (10): 1990 DOI:
10.1021/ acsfoodscitech.1c00311 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211208090151.htm

--- up 4 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)