The ‘protein transition’, the swap many imagine that we (the human race, that’s) might want to make away from animal sources of protein in the direction of various sources, is properly on the best way.
Plant-based meat, fish and dairy alternate options, whereas seeing a big downturn in latest months, remains to be a big a part of this.
When growing plant-based substitutes, substances corporations typically use soy, pea, and wheat protein. Dutch agricultural cooperative Royal Cosun, nevertheless, develops plant-based merchandise utilizing sugar beets and potatoes (it additionally develops plant-based alternate options utilizing cichorei and plant-based alternate options utilizing fava beans.)
As a result of they produce these merchandise in such abundance, they’ve a spread of facet streams which they’ll put into plant-based alternate options, in addition to various functions of those crops in meat, fish and dairy alternate options.
Creating plant-based alternate options from sugar beet pulp
Royal Cosun goals to concentrate on utilising its crops, together with the side-streams, to develop plant-based alternate options. The corporate’s focus is on “unlocking the total potential of our crops, together with the facet streams,” Royal Cosun CEO Hans Meeuwis informed FoodNavigator.
The sugar beet is one such crop. It’s a hardy crop and might face up to altering climatic pressures, Meeuwis toldus. “It is a sturdy and resilient crop.”
Its facet streams, resembling sugar-beet pulp, can be utilized as a purposeful ingredient in plant-based alternate options.
Cosun has developed makes use of for the sugar beet pulp, which might normally be used primarily in cattle feed. “We have been in search of different functions for this product, which is a co-product; a by-product if you want,” Mathys Boeren, director for analysis, improvement and innovation at Royal Cosun, informed FoodNavigator. The corporate makes use of it in plant-based fish or meat alternate options and in falafel bites and burgers.
The sugar beet pulp holds the moisture within the fish or meat alternate options, which means that it doesn’t have the dry texture that’s frequent in lots of plant-based alternate options. It additionally has a impartial style, which means that one doesn’t want so as to add additional flavours resembling salt to cowl up the off-taste.
Compositionally, the sugar beet pulp is only one% sugar, a member of Royal Cosun’s workforce informed us, because the sugar is extracted. What’s left, they informed us, is principally water and fibre. As a purposeful ingredient, it really works together with different substances resembling plant-based proteins.
The ingredient is “a foodstuff,” Boeren informed us. “The patron, on the finish of the day, will look in the back of the label and can wish to see it as clear there as potential. On the identical time if we disappoint the patron on style and texture, they may purchase it as soon as, however there’ll by no means be that repeat purchase.”
Creating dairy alternate options from potatoes
Potatoes, alternatively, might be utilised for dairy alternate options, for instance potato ‘cheezz’. “Opposite to common cheese . . . potato ‘cheezz’ doesn’t include (saturated) fats and salt,” Royal Cosun informed us. Alongside sugar, one in every of Royal Cosun’s main companies is chips (fries), and with its large-scale manufacturing of potatoes can make the most of an ingredient it already provides to create new merchandise.
“So in search of various functions with the substances that we have already got, as long as they reply the necessity of the patron,” Boeren informed us.
