Influence of extrudate to SPI-gel-binder ratios and transglutaminase crosslinking on texture of a plant-based salami analogue

Abstract

A plant-based salami-type sausage analogue was manufactured with a glucono-δ-lactone- or transglutaminase+glucono- δ -lactone-induced soy protein isolate-gel as binder to hold together fat mimetic particles and extruded proteins with fibrous structure to resemble the structure of classical dry-fermented sausages. The objective was to study the influence of the binder content on the texture of this complex meat analogues. The sausage analogues were processed similarly to traditional sausages. Texture, sensory and composition were analyzed. The hardness of dry-fermented sausages was found to decrease with increasing binder content (e.g. at 45% dry matter from ∼ 110 N to ∼ 80 N), whereas the cohesiveness increased with increasing binder content (e.g. at 45% dry matter from ∼ 0.21 to ∼ 0.41). Results from sensory and texture analysis correlated well and showed that both a high firmness and cohesiveness could not be reached in a single formulation. Furthermore, the addition of transglutaminase slightly increased firmness and cohesiveness, however, drying of sausages had a significantly higher impact on increasing hardness. These results indicate that, at lower binder contents, the structure is dominated by the extrudate particles, leading to an increased firmness but a lack of cohesiveness, whereas higher binder contents increased the cohesiveness but decreased hardness.