Abstract
Consumers are increasingly interested in decreasing their dietary intake of animal-based food products, due to health, sustainability, and ethical concerns. For this reason, the food industry is creating new products from plant-based ingredients that simulate many of the physicochemical and sensory attributes associated with animal-derived foods, including milk, eggs, and meat. An understanding of how the ingredient type, amount, and organization influence the desirable physicochemical, sensory, and nutritional attributes of these plant-based foods is required to achieve this goal. A potential problem with plant-based diets is that they lack key micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, and ω-3 fatty acids. The aim of this review is to present the science behind the creation of next-generation nutritionally fortified plant-based milk substitutes. These milk-like products may be formed by mechanically breaking down certain plant materials (including nuts, seeds, and legumes) to produce a dispersion of oil bodies and other colloidal matter in water, or by forming oil-in-water emulsions by homogenizing plant-based oils and emulsifiers with water. A brief overview of the formulation and fabrication of plant-based milks is given. The relationship between the optical properties, rheology, and stability of plant-based milks and their composition and structure is then covered. Approaches to fortify these products with micronutrients that may be missing from a plant-based diet are also highlighted. In conclusion, this article highlights how the knowledge of structural design principles can be used to facilitate the creation of higher quality and more sustainable plant-based food products.
Highlights
The modern food industry produces an impressive range of high-quality, safe, and tasty products for consumers, but it is increasingly putting a strain on our environment and leading to health problems [1,2]
Of particles at the topmay or bottom of a the product,of(ii) some aggregates may become so large that they are visible within the product, and (iii) some aggregates may become in the perceived quality of plant-based milk substitutes: (i) Gravitational separation may lead to the so large they causelayer the of mouthfeel gritty or grainy
Other types of plant-based milk substitutes have been shown to be unstable to aggregation and creaming when the pH is around the protein’s isoelectric point, when the mineral levels are high, or when they are subjected to heating due to similar reasons, e.g., those stabilized by soy proteins [52,53], lentil, pea, or faba bean proteins [41]
Summary
The modern food industry produces an impressive range of high-quality, safe, and tasty products for consumers, but it is increasingly putting a strain on our environment and leading to health problems [1,2]. Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) The focus of this manuscript is the replacement of cow’s milk with plant-based alternatives. If these products are going to be successful, it is important that they are safe, affordable, convenient, shelf-stable, and delicious, otherwise consumers will not include them in their diet. The main aim of this article is to introduce the scientific principles required to create high-quality plant-based milk substitutes. Some consumers find the difference in quality attributes between plant-based milk substitutes and cow’s milk to be unacceptable, which is holding back their more widespread adoption. The creation of good quality plant-based milk substitutes that have appropriate functional attributes depends on understanding the science behind their formation, properties, and performance. An overview of the physicochemical and sensory attributes of these products is given for the sake of completeness
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