Comparative functionality of soy proteins used in commercial meat food products

Abstract

AbstractThe use of soy isolates, concentrates, and texturized flours in meat food products is discussed. Functional characteristics of soy products in relation to their market application are reviewed. Soy isolates find more limited usage in meat food systems (2%) than the concentrates and textured soy flours (8–12%). In weak meat systems containing large amounts of fat (30–45%), the concentrate emulsifier and isolate are more important than the texturized soy flour. In chopped meat systems with 18–25% fat, the textural properties of soy flour (extruded) are more important than the use of an isolate. However, combinations of concentrate emulsifier and texturized flour are used. The method of cooking, i.e. fresh, deep fat‐fried, or char‐broiled, will affect the usage of soy combinations. In comminuted cooked cured meat food mixes, soy concentrates, and textured flours currently are being used. Nutritional properties are improved by inclusion of available ingredients high in lysine and methionine. Functional measurements of textural properties have been completed using the Instron with a Lee Kramer cell. Both model emulsion systems and finished product results substantiate the accuracy of textural properties in soy‐meat mixes using the Instron.