Ground meat replicas
Inventors
VARADAN, RANJANI • SOLOMATIN, SERGEY • Holz-Schietinger, Celeste • Cohn, Elysia P. • Klapholz-Brown, Ariel • Shiu, Jennifer Woan-Yi • KALE, Aniket • Karr, Jessica • Fraser, Rachel
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10798958-B2
Publication Date
2020-10-13
Expiration Date
Abstract
This document relates to ground meat replicas, and more particularly to plant-based products that mimic ground meat, including the fibrousness, heterogeneity in texture, beefy flavor, and red-to-brown color transition during cooking of ground meat.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a method of making a meat replica by combining an isolated plant protein with a heme-containing protein, water, and at least one flavor precursor to produce a meat dough. The flavor precursor is selected from amino acids, sugars, nucleotide-related components, organic acids, and related compounds including lactic acid, creatine, and L-taurine.
The meat dough is then combined with an edible fibrous component comprising a plant protein extrudate, a carbohydrate-based gel, and a fat to produce the meat replica. The carbohydrate-based gel comprises agar, pectin, carrageenan, konjac, methylcellulose, a modified starch, guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, or mixtures thereof, and the fat comprises corn oil, soy oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, flax seed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, or a mixture thereof.
The described approach targets meat-like fibrous and heterogeneous texture, beefy flavor, and a red-to-brown color transition. The document further describes plant-based heme-containing proteins such as leghemoglobin and plant proteins such as RuBisCO and conglycinin, and it describes flavor-related components such as lactones and carotenoids.
Claims Coverage
One independent claim is provided and is directed to a method for making a meat replica. It identifies four inventive features focused on formation of a meat dough and assembly with defined structured components to yield a meat replica.
Meat dough from isolated plant protein, heme-containing protein, water, and selected flavor precursors
Combining an isolated plant protein with a heme-containing protein, water, and at least one flavor precursor selected from alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, glucose, ribose, thiamine, IMP, GMP, lactic acid, creatine, and L-taurine, to produce a meat dough.
Edible fibrous component comprising a plant protein extrudate
Combining the meat dough with an edible fibrous component comprising a plant protein extrudate.
Carbohydrate-based gel comprising specified gelling agents
Combining the meat dough with a carbohydrate-based gel, wherein the carbohydrate-based gel comprises agar, pectin, carrageenan, konjac, methylcellulose, a modified starch, guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, or mixtures thereof.
Fat comprising specified vegetable oils
Combining the meat dough with a fat, wherein the fat comprises corn oil, soy oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, flax seed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, or a mixture thereof, thereby making a meat replica.
The claim coverage is directed to producing a meat dough from an isolated plant protein plus a heme-containing protein and selected flavor precursors, then incorporating a plant-protein-extrudate fibrous component, a carbohydrate-based gel formed from specified gelling agents, and a fat formed from specified vegetable oils to yield a meat replica.
Stated Advantages
Reduced grainy, oxidized, and off notes and improved meatiness and tallow-like flavors as evaluated with trained flavor scientists or panelists.
Flavor compounds are reported as decreased or not detectable via SPME GC-MS in association with the described formulations.
Meat-like fibrous and heterogeneous texture.
Beefy flavor.
Red-to-brown color transition.
Flavor-related components such as lactones and carotenoids can reduce off-notes and increase desired meat-like flavor during cooking.
Documented Applications
Preparation of plant-protein meat replicas and associated products including meat dough, bloody agar, adipose replica emulsions, burgers, and taco meat.
Use of gelled matrices with leghemoglobin and generation of cucumber/melon slurries or extracts, including SAFE extracts, to enhance meatiness and reduce off flavors.
Monitoring of flavor and odor outcomes using SPME GC-MS and sensory evaluation by trained flavor scientists or panelists.
Meat replica.
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