Plant-like proteins

extrusion technology

The answer lies in the manufacturing technique: extrusion. This technology is not new, it has been used for more than 30 years, without having to go any further, to turn flour into Breakfast Cereal or put gum s egg pasta.

It is a technological process Adjusts the nutritional composition and organoleptic properties of food by mixing different raw materials. “Extrusion-treated foods are cooked at a high temperature (above 100°C) at the same time they are exposed to high pressure. All this in a short period of time,” they explain from the AINIA Technology Center.

In recent years this method It is applied in the manufacture of new protein foods based on legumes, insects, grains and even vegetables.. Mixing different components and changing their structure enables:

• Increase the nutritional value of the final food.
• Improving its properties: retain more water or dissolve more easily.
• Reduce the presence of toxic or less valuable substances, such as mycotoxins and Antinutrients (Substances secreted by plants, such as legume saponins, which can interfere with the absorption of some nutrients.)

Meat-like vegetarian food

But above all, extrusion fulfills the desire Eating “vegetarian food that looks like meat, tastes like meat, and is prepared like meat, but it is not meatAs Mariana Valverde, of AINIA’s Division of Product and Process Technologies explains, “With shoot from high humidity Highly homogeneous products with a texture similar to the muscle fibers of animals. It is then flavored, sliced, or chopped To form a portion of meat-like foods, such as hamburgers or vegetarian deli meats.”

While products obtained by high moisture extrusion contain between 50% and 70% water, products obtained by low moisture extrusion have a dry texture (about 10% moisture). “To consume it, you have to rehydrate or cook it, so that it has a spongy texture. A well-known example is textured soybeanswe can use it as a final product or add it to soups, bolognese… They also become more frequent Pea texture. From an industrial point of view, they are used, for example, in protein bars,” says Valverde. These low-moisture woven products have an advantage when it comes to organizing our pantry: they do not require refrigeration and last a long time.

Nowadays, The meat counterparts that we can find in the market tend to be meat or chicken. Valverde advances, “In the near future we will develop analogues for hunting by extrusion.” Current technology is still far from offering us something similar to hake medals. “Let’s go instead of shredded tuna.”, explains. An ingredient that can be used in pancakes or tortillas.

3D printed veggie burger

Want a hamburger flavored with lamb or aged beef? Well done or right? The 3D printing has been added to vegetable proteins to make personalized proposals right now in the restaurant itself.

Just launched the Israeli company SavorEat burgers Made with vegan 3D printers that allow the flavor to be adapted to each customer’s taste. When he orders dinner, he can choose the amount of fat and protein in the meat. The burgers are then prepared as a la carte on a 3D printer using three oil cartridges and a set Potato, chickpea and pea protein. And so, in just six minutes, we already have a hamburger flavored with beef, beef and pork.

To see what is the acceptance of these products, last November a booth In a department store in London where you can try it White bean sausage and vegetable “mutton” sandwiches Made with a 3D printer. They are only pilots within a production pattern that is still far from being implemented on a large scale.