Introducing Tempeh as a New Plant-Based Protein Food Item on the Danish Market.

Margit Dall Aaslyng,Rikke Højer

doi:10.3390/foods10112865

Abstract

Decreasing meat consumption has resulted in a need for new high-quality protein sources. Tempeh is relatively unknown in Denmark and might be capable of meeting this need. The aim of the study was to describe the success criteria for introducing locally produced tempeh and to investigate the sensory quality of three types of tempeh. Only 24% of the consumers in the survey (n = 395) used meat alternatives, which might be explained by a low level of satisfaction with availability. Tempeh was known by 26%—the less meat eaten, the greater the knowledge of tempeh. Twenty-three per cent of the consumers had positive attitudes towards tempeh. The three types of tempeh had markedly different sensory profiles. Nevertheless, the home use test showed that they could be used interchangeably in different recipes. In addition, the consumers were more positive about recipes in which tempeh did not resemble meat compared with meat-inspired recipes. In conclusion, introducing locally produced tempeh on the Danish market is possible but would require further knowledge of the product. In addition, tempeh should be sold as a tasty, high-quality protein food item in its own right. Recipes using tempeh should reflect this and not mimic meat recipes.

Highlights

A considerable part of the population either want to minimise their meat intake by being vegan or vegetarian or reduce their meat intake by being flexitarian or meat reducers [1]
Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food item, which, in its original version, is dehulled acid-soaked soy beans solid state fermented with the mold Rhizopus spp
Produced tempeh in Denmark can be introduced on the Danish market by targeting meat reducers/meat avoiders, who today are primarily young consumers

Summary

Introduction

A considerable part of the population either want to minimise their meat intake by being vegan or vegetarian or reduce their meat intake by being flexitarian or meat reducers [1]. Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food item, which, in its original version, is dehulled acid-soaked soy beans solid state fermented with the mold Rhizopus spp This results in a white cake-like structure which can be sliced and prepared in various ways, e.g., fried or baked. The fermentation increases the nutritional quality of the protein source by reducing the content of antinutritional components [9], increasing the content of the B-vitamin group including B12 [6,10], increasing the protein digestibility measured by in vitro protein digestibility [7] and improving the amino acid composition [7,11]. Healthpromoting compounds such as γ-Aminobutyric acid [12] are formed during fermentation

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion