Plant-based vegan food products are made entirely from plants with no animal-derived ingredients such as meat or dairy. Examples include vegan cheeses and meat alternatives made from soy or other plant ingredients.
Natec Network provides machines and expertise for you to get the most authentic plant-based cheese or meat alternative produced.
Plant-based cheese, also known as vegan cheese, is a dairy-free alternative made from plant-based ingredients, rather than animal products.
It mimics the taste and texture of dairy cheese through ingredients such as starches & hydrocolloids for structure and texture and through processes like fermentation or specific flavorings for authentic cheese aroma.
Plant-based cheese production involves blending plant-derived fats and proteins (like those from soy or nuts) with water and functional additives to create a cheese-like base, which is then emulsified and cooked. Processes vary from simple mixing and setting to more complex fermentation and aging.
Ingredients like plant-based milks or raw ingredients from soy or nuts are blended with plant-based oil, water, starches and hydrocolloids to create a smooth base.
The water, powder and liquids dosing systems of the ShearTherm make the ingredient recombination step easy and effortless.
The mixture undergoes an emulsification process, where the fats and water are combined, followed by a heating step to activate the thickening process. This creates the desired consistency.
The best emulsification and cooking results are delivered by the ShearTherm batch cooker in combination with the unique M4E Technology.
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Nutritional yeast, spices, salts, acids, or other flavoring agents are incorporated.
For certain products, the mixture can be fermented using bacterial cultures to develop a complex cheese flavor and a firm texture, similar to dairy cheese aging.
The resulting product is poured into desired forms, such as blocks or cups for spreads and cooled to set and firm up.
Plant-based vegan meat is a food product made entirely from plant ingredients like soy, peas and vegetable oils. It is designed to imitate the taste, texture and appearance of conventional meat through the careful combination of plant-based proteins, fats, binders and flavorings.
Plant-based meat production involves sourcing proteins, texturizing them to create a fibrous structure, adding fats for juiciness, incorporating colors and flavors, and finally shaping and processing the mixture into a final product.
Proteins are extracted and isolated from plant-based ingredients such as soybeans or peas. These proteins are often processed using methods like high-moisture extrusion to create a fibrous, meat-like structure. This involves forcing a mixture of proteins through a machine under heat and pressure, which aligns the protein molecules to form a fibrous texture similar to animal muscle.
Ingredients like e.g. coconut oil are added to replicate the fat content and provide juiciness and flavor. Natural flavors and aromas are incorporated, often using yeast extracts, spices, or mushroom-based flavors to enhance the umami depth and mimic the meaty taste. Natural colorants, such as beet juice, are used to achieve a red hue, while heme iron produced from fermented yeast can add a distinct iron-rich, beefy flavor.
The processed proteins, fats, flavors and colors are blended to create a consistent mixture, which is then shaped into desired forms. To achieve a lump-free homogenous mixture the ShearTherm batch cooker in combination with the unique M4E Technology is the best solution.
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The final product is filled into desired forms, such as plastic casings or blocks and undergoes cooking (baking, frying, steaming) treatment to prevent microbial contamination. It can then be cut into slices before being packaged for distribution to grocery store.
To jump the time-consuming and labour-intensive process steps from filling the product into casings, cooking, cooling to cutting the final product into slices, the cooking step can be performed by the ShearTherm right after blending and the FreeSlice offers a continuous forming, cooling and cutting process to produce vegan sausage slices in just a few minutes.
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