Creating plant-based meat alternatives without extrusion: Applying soft matter physics

Plant-based meat alternatives have become a major trend as consumers seek sustainable food sources and become increasingly aware of issues related to climate change and food security. However, recent declines in consumer interest present a challenge to this market. To become a more attractive food option, it is crucial to attract more "flexitarians", who make up about 25% of the total population. Flexitarians often prefer products that closely resemble conventional meats like chicken breast and beef steak, and that are offered at an affordable price. Current industrial methods like extrusions have proven to be a good method for creating single textured processed meat, but still, they have limitations to the different texture and the appearance as compared to whole cut animal meat. Therefore, the current research focused on creating whole cut, high-quality meat analogs without using extrusion methods. Instead, it applied simple mixing and freezing or mild heating, which might be energy-efficient methods, with lower cost. The current research first focused on creating phase separated protein and polysaccharide system. When plant protein is mixed with certain polysaccharides, the mixed solution forms a phase separated protein particles due to electrostatic repulsion or interaction. The created phase separated protein-polysaccharide system was then aligned using different methods. The aligned phase separated proteins forms a fibrous network, creating a muscle fiber like structure. Subsequently, the polysaccharides were gelled using salt dipping method or heating, binding the created aligned protein structures like connective tissue. The created meat analog has fibrous appearance, and protein content and texture comparable to that of the animal meat. The current study can give insights into creating a next-generation meat analog without using excursion machine.