New plant-based protein ingredients for new food prototypes

 

PROTEIN2FOOD partners have developed several new high-quality plant protein ingredients that are currently not available on the market, such as lentil protein isolates and protein-rich quinoa flour.

These new ingredients originate from crops cultivated in Europe with seeds that are either rich in protein or contain high-quality protein (a good amino acid composition);

• the protein isolates and concentrates were produced from the protein-rich crops such as lupin, lentil and faba bean
• the protein-rich flours were made from the crops containing high-quality protein, such as quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth

These new ingredients can potentially be used in the development of food products by replacing either animal-based proteins (i.e. from meat or eggs) or soy-based protein ingredients.

The newly developed protein ingredients have been analysed with regard to their functional, nutritional and sensory properties. The results show that the new protein ingredients have excellent functional potential in a wide range of food applications. These new ingredients have been used by PROTEIN2FOOD researchers for developing various protein-rich food prototypes such as plant-based spreads, meat substitutes, extruded breakfast cereals, milk substitutes, bread, pasta and even infant formulae.

Besides their high(-quality) protein contents and highly functional properties, most of these new ingredients also have good nutritional properties. Negative tastes or sensory properties like bitter or strong aromas of the single flours or isolates could be reduced by processing or influenced by mixing different ingredients, which also contributes to a better amino acid composition of the final food.

The information generated about the new plant-based protein ingredients can be used by both the ingredient producers, as a knowledge base, as well as the food industry in order to create new market opportunities.