One of the challenges in producing realistic-looking and flavourful plant-based meat is mimicking the marbling effect of animal fat that many meat lovers expect.
A food scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is developing a new technology to do just that, supported by a $250,000 grant from the Good Food Institute.
The technology proposed by Lutz Grossmann, an assistant professor, “has the potential to revolutionise the plant-based meat industry, expand its product offerings and appeal to a broader audience,” the institute said on announcement of the grant, which is one of 118 awarded by the GFI since 2019 in 21 countries totalling more than $21 million to date.
“The Good Food Institute has played a key role in supporting research for more sustainable food options, and UMass Food Science was fortunate to receive the funding,” Grossmann says. In 2020, a team of UMass Amherst food scientists led by Professor David Julian McClements received a grant from the institute to develop a new approach to producing tasty, plant-based, protein-rich foods that are similar in texture to conventional chicken, pork or beef.
Replicating whole muscle meat cuts
Grossmann, whose research focuses on developing holistic approaches to increase the consumption of plant- and microbial-based protein-rich foods, plans to incorporate lipids into high-moisture extrusion processes, a technique used to replicate the juiciness, appearance and texture of animal whole-muscle meat.
“While high moisture extrusion has become a primary method for creating meat-like textures from plant proteins, it currently lacks the ability to create lipid marbling, a key property to replicate the look, taste and texture of traditional meat products,” Grossmann explains. “The challenges of incorporating lipids in high moisture extrusion processes are mainly related to the lubricating effect of plant lipids, which interfere with protein melting in the extruder barrel.”
To overcome these challenges and bridge the gap between plant proteins and lipids, Grossmann is developing a novel extrusion segment designed to facilitate the creation of the marbled appearance and texture of whole cut plant-based meat products.
“The system basically works like a piping bag that can be used to create a two-coloured swirl,” concludes Grossmann.
