A Vegetarian Vision - Part Two
From Food Product Design Magazine
Click here to read A Vegetarian Vision - Part One.
Table of Contents
Using your noodle
Go with the grain
Meat the analogs
Send in the substitutes
Pasta is no longer just spaghetti made from durum semolina flour. Special pastas fit into the diets of those with food allergies, those who have an interest in increased nutrition, or who enjoy the variety of creative shapes and value-added flavors. Today pasta is commonly flavored with vegetables such as spinach, peppers, tomatoes, or carrots, and is often preseasoned with garlic, onion, herbs, spices and other flavorings.
Non-wheat pastas, typically consumed by those with wheat allergies, add interesting flavors and textures to pasta dishes. Varieties made with corn, kamut, amaranth, potato, buckwheat, quinoa, mung-bean and brown-rice flours are all available. For novelty without straying too far, wheat flour can be supplemented with these non-traditional flours. Pasta can be supplemented with soy protein isolate, important for products made from lower-protein grains, because protein is the backbone of pasta. Nontraditional ingredients may generate price issues, however. "A lot of these unique grains are very costly, and the problem is trying to meet a retail price that people are willing to pay. We tried entrees with kammut pasta, and they tasted good, but the pasta was too expensive to justify its use," says Terry Mayo, vice president of the vegetarian frozen entrée manufacturer Cedarlane Natural Foods, Los Angeles, CA.
Another challenge is that non-wheat-based pastas are easy to over-cook, lose starch during cooking, and do not have as firm of a texture. Mixing in other kinds of ingredients will change the product's manufacturing capabilities - for example, decreased cooking tolerance and modified texture and bite. These potentially undesirable attributes may be compensated for by changing formulation ingredients, or by using alternate methods of processing and reconstitution, but they may never be eliminated entirely.
The Grainery
Amaranth: a high-protein, tiny, mustard-colored seed with a nutty and pepperish flavor. Must be toasted before using. Barley: nutty-flavored grain with slightly chewy texture. Available hulled, pearled and as grits and flakes. Buckwheat: triangular, greenish-pink granules with a strong flavor and high protein content. Available whole, cracked and as flour or grits. Bulgur: processed whole-wheat kernels that have been hulled, steamed, dried and then cracked. Chewy texture found in coarse, medium and fine granulations. Fast-cooking grain used in pilafs, casseroles, salads and soups. Corn or Maize: a yellow, white, red or blue kernel that is dried and cracked or ground. Kamut: ancient variety of wheat. A rice-like kernel available as berries, flour, grits or pasta. Kasha: strongly flavored, roasted kernels of unhulled, cracked buckwheat. Available whole and in various granulations. Millet: a tiny, round, pale yellow to reddish orange seed in the grass family. Must be cracked to hydrate properly. Sautéing in oil until cracking begins speeds the simmering process. Available whole, cracked, flaked and ground. Oats: available as groats that cook with simmering in 45 minutes. A variety of flaked sizes including rolled, quick cooking and instantized. Quinoa: a high-protein ancient grain. Small, ivory colored, flat-oval granules that cook quickly in water. Available as whole seed and flour. Rice: cultivated in long, medium and short grains. Available whole, instantized, and as grits, meal and flour. Rye: related to wheat but with less gluten. Rye berries are unhulled rye kernels that add a chewy texture. Found also in flakes, grits and flour. Spelt: a flavorful, non-hybrid relative of wheat. Available as berries and flour. Triticale: a hybrid of wheat and rye available as berries, flakes and flour. Wheat Berries: one of the oldest cultivated grains. Available as berries, bulgur, cracked, grits, flakes and flour. Wild Rice: not truly rice, but an American aquatic grass. Purplish-black oblong grains have a nutty flavor. Takes up to 50 minutes to cook in simmering water. Commercially available in IQF varieties for frozen or refrigerated entrees, side dishes and soups, shorter-cooking and quick-cooking varieties for use in dried side-dish or soup mixes. |
The most common commercially used food grains are wheat, corn, rice, barley, rye and oats. Different grains have varied processing needs and terminologies, but in general, dry-milling separates the bran (with its insoluble cellulose) and the germ (with its high fat content susceptible to rancidity) from the starchy endosperm.
Some grains are left with their edible outside layers intact, to increase nutritional content, while others might be milled; either can be reduced to sizes ranging from bits to flour. Berries, often called groats, are whole crushed kernels that have not been milled or polished. They are available in a variety of granulations. Grits are grains cracked into very small pieces, and sometimes toasted. Flakes or rolled grains are flattened pieces of the endosperm. Grains vary in cooking time based on their size and outer coating, but food product designers have access to a variety of further-processed grains that have reduced cook times.
Protein content is not constant from grain to grain, although most grains have fairly well-balanced amino acid profiles, barring one or two limiting amino acids. Grains in general, except for oats and rye, usually have low levels of lysine. Wheat is the only grain that has gluten proteins that provide the elastic structure required in bread, although rye is able to form a weak dough. Combinations of wheat and other grains make perfectly acceptable breads. Batters made without wheat can use xanthan gum to provide body that would otherwise come from gluten.
Grains are typically 60% to 75% starch, either in the form of amylose or amylopectin. The ratio of these starches, along with the size and shape of starch granules, is responsible for each grain's gelatinization properties, which may effect functionality in processed foods.
It's important to match the grain source to the end product. For example, rice is available in many varieties, with a wide range of functionalities. Rice varieties include long-, medium- and short-grain; brown; waxy; aromatic; and arborio. It is commercially available in uncooked, precooked, IQF, quick-cooking, and instantized varieties. Long-grain rice cooks up to have separate, smooth, fluffy grains, and would be great for a frozen entree. Cooked short-grain rice gels have higher levels of amylopectin, making this type the best choice for a veggie patty application due to increased stickiness.
Technology is becoming quite accomplished at creating realistic analogs that equal their meat counterparts in terms of flavor, texture and most importantly, satiety. There are analogs of hamburger, both in patties and ground form; sliced lunch meats; sausages; hot dogs; Canadian bacon; pepperoni; bacon bits; and even of whole, stuffed turkey. Vegetarian "meat" is not meat, points out Ron McDermitt, vice president of research technology with Worthington Foods, Worthington, OH. "It does not have to be cooked, only warmed, and is not like using raw meat because the binding systems are completely different. In a meat system like raw hamburger, you can make a salisbury steak with just the meat because the meat proteins will bind together upon cooking. Meat analogs do not have the same myosin-type meat system, so you cannot take raw soy protein, hydrate it, and expect it to bind during heating. Because of this, you have to build the product differently and remember that it will act differently in prepared foods."
Texture and flavor are the two biggest challenges in developing a meat analog. McDermitt suggests a combined approach. First, decide on a target; then, select the right ingredients and ingredient systems that will yield the best texture; and finally, use the correct processing technologies.
A combined technology that goes beyond color and flavor allows species-specific meat analogs to be developed. There is a difference in muscle structure between chicken and ham, and using the proper ingredients in an analog mimics that texture. "With a hamburger analog, you need a granular texture, where each of the individual pieces has a certain mouthfeel or chew, and the product breaks apart in the mouth like ground beef does," says McDermitt. "In this application, soy and wheat proteins will provide this texture and experience. A chicken nugget is a totally different target in texture and would require a different protein system. By using a wet-extrusion process to spin soy-protein fibers, you get the long fibers needed to mimic chicken muscle. A hot dog is an emulsified meat, and has a much finer texture, which requires a different technology again."
Analogs often require a combination of different protein sources for mouthfeel and functionality, and the ingredient choices are varied. According to Gerry Amantea, vice president of technical services for the meat-alternatives manufacturer Yves Veggie Cuisine, Delta, BC, "Soy isolate, with its water-binding capabilities and gel strength, will provide different characteristics than wheat protein or tofu. It is important to understand the characteristics and functionalities that each individual protein has, and then also understand the additional interactions that may occur between these different proteins when they are combined. Though an ingredient may have a certain characteristic by itself, when you mix it with other ingredients, it may take on a completely different characteristic or functioning effect."
Linda Beck, senior scientist with Central Soya, Fort Wayne, IN, emphasizes that the process of putting the ingredients together is an important step that determines the end result. "When putting together a meat analog, the first thing that needs to be understood is how you combine the various ingredients such as TSPC (textured soy protein concentrate) as well as other binders such as gums, wheat gluten, etc. The order in which you add these ingredients together will create different textures, and there really is no one answer in how you should put a meat analog together."
One of the more common techniques is blending all of the dry ingredients together, hydrating with water, blending again, forming, prebaking if necessary and, finally, freezing. Another procedure is to blend all of the binders together, add the water, and finally the seasonings. This texture will be different from the mix procedure previously described.
"The type of fat used will contribute a different mouthfeel," says Beck. "When adding fat to a meat analog mixture, it is important that the TSPC is hydrated with the water first. Fats, especially liquid fats, will coat dry TSPC, and it will not want to hydrate properly. Partially hydrogenated fat can be in a flaked form, so that when the consumer heats the product, the fat will melt similarly to beef fat and have the visual effect of frying just like a meat product."
Soy protein in the form of TSPC and FSPC (functional soy protein concentrate) is commonly used as a base ingredient in meat analogs. TSPC is produced by thermoplastic extrusion of soy protein concentrate, with a final structure that provides excellent hydration and fat absorption, and leads to the desired textural properties. FSPC is processed by subjecting the concentrate to a heat and shear process and then spray-drying so that in the finished meat analog it functions to improve moisture retention, fat absorption, and emulsification properties. According to Steve Campano, group manager, protein technical support at Central Soya, "Textured soy protein concentrates have an inherent meat-like texture when hydrated. The three-dimensional particulate structure of TSPC is very stable during the processing, cooking and reconstitution of a vegetarian product. Extruded soy proteins are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors to meet the need of most any meat analog. Functional soy protein concentrate powders enhance texture through moisture and fat control. They also provide viscosity to the meat analog mixtures, facilitating machineability during the forming and transferring processes before cooking."
Textured wheat protein concentrate and powdered concentrates are also readily available sources of protein that make excellent meat analogs. Midwest Grain Products, Atchison, KS, offers a wheat gluten product processed by extrusion technology that provides a porous cellular structure and tissue-like striations. When hydrated, it has a soft, meat-like structure and a very low flavor profile. Powdered, spray-dried wheat gluten is also used in analogs, functioning as a binder for other protein sources, such as TSPC and tofu, and improving texture and firmness.
A binding system is essential when working with meat analogs. Besides cohesion, binders also play a key role in retaining moisture and fat, which lends mouthfeel and juiciness. Binders have different water-holding capacities, which impact the finished product accordingly. Water is especially important in the reduced-fat and fat-free products, as it is typically used in place of fat to provide lubricity and juiciness.
Food starches and gums are commonly used alone or in combination as binders, and have a significant impact on finished texture and mouthfeel. Where a firmer texture is required, kappa carrageenan is used. The iota form of carrageenan, which produces a slightly elastic gel, is used in products that are less firm.
Soy and wheat proteins, in the form of concentrates and isolates, along with rice protein, also function as excellent binders. Egg white, though an excellent binder, cannot be used in vegan applications. Other ingredients that may be added particularly for their binding capabilities include mashed legumes, cheese, tofu, malt syrup, ground nut pastes and vegetables.
Other additives in analogs include flavoring systems, coloring agents and, possibly, particulates. Some manufacturers require maximum reality and try to mimic everything possible found in meat. Tougher soy bits that mimic cartilage can be added for a more realistic chew, or konjac can be combined with starch to create a gel that can then be chopped into particles resembling fat.
"When I look at a vegetarian product, such as a meat analog, I look at two categories," explains Beck. "You have the meat analog for the meat eater, who for nutritional purposes realize they need to eat less meat, but they want the form, convenience and flavor of meat. Then there are the rice-, oat-, grain- and vegetable-based analogs, which just happen to be in the form of a patty. This segment of the market may not eat meat, and may not want a meat-style substitute. If your product looks like meat, tastes like meat and pretends to be meat, they may not want it."
A whole category of foods is available, such as tofu, tempeh and seitan, that are considered meat substitutes, yet do not really try to mimic meat as authentically as do the analogs.
Tempeh is a chunky, tender soybean cake with a mild nutty flavor and distinctive chewy texture that can be used as a meat substitute. It is made out of fermented soybean paste made with the mold Rhizopus oligosporus. The mold forms a mycelium that holds the soy together and is responsible for tempeh's black specks.
When whole-wheat flour and water are kneaded, the dough rinsed to remove the carbohydrate fraction, and the gluten that remains is boiled in water, the resulting dough is called kofu. Kofu can be further processed in many ways. One product, called seitan, is wheat-gluten dough simmered in a stock of tamari soy sauce, water and kombu sea vegetables. It is brown in color, usually comes in strips 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick, and has a texture more continuous than a ground patty. Tofu, tempeh and seitan can all be marinated in a variety of flavors and then baked to be used in entrees; fried and made into sandwiches; simmered in stews; or heated on the grill.
Blends typically referred to as veggie burgers contain anything and everything from vegetables, tofu and cheeses to grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They are available in both vegetarian and vegan forms, and can be seasoned with familiar flavor blends such as Italian or Mexican. One example, a loaf product called Field Roast is made by the Field Roast Grain Meat Company of Seattle, WA. The product's main ingredient is wheat gluten blended with grains, vegetables and legumes that is simmered in a flavored broth. It can be used much like traditional meats - thinly sliced for sandwiches, for example, or julienne-cut for salads and pasta dishes, sliced for stir fry or minced for ground-meat-style dishes. These products are an excellent alternative for the vegetarian who dislikes meat's flavor and texture.
Peter Klepchick, executive chef, Celentano Foods, Verona, NJ, recently developed 10 new vegan-style frozen entrees to add to the company's vegetarian line. Celentano started out making frozen Italian foods with no additives, chemicals, preservatives or artificial ingredients, and has added both organic vegetarian and organic vegan entrees as well. The vegetarian lines focuses on pasta and cheese with lots of vegetables, while the vegan line reproduces classic Italian favorites using tofu and vegan cheese. Their products do not use meat analogs, or try to mimic meat in any way. Not trying to be all things to all people, they have created a line of products that fits their targeted criteria and satisfies their customers.
There are certainly many issues to consider when designing vegetarian foods, including the functionality challenges of substituting for animal-derived ingredients and the effective use of non-meat and -dairy flavoring ingredients. As with almost any creative process, the possibilities are virtually endless. In the case of vegetarian foods, tapping the ever-growing market for these products is the reward for successfully anticipating and fulfilling the needs of those subscribing to the "theory of vegetivity."
Lisa Kobs, M.S., a vegetarian for over 15 years, is a Minneapolis-based food scientist focusing on new-product development.
• Photo: American Egg Board
• Photo: B.E.A.N.
• Photo: Celentano
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Used with permission from Food Product Design Magazine
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