Plant-Based Scrambled Egg Texture via Alginate Gelation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scrambled egg substitutes fail to replicate the well-balanced softness, elasticity, and smooth texture with a soft-boiled taste of traditional scrambled eggs, particularly when using plant-based ingredients.
Innovation Solution
A scrambled-egg-like food product is created using a gelled product containing plant-based milks such as soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk, combined with alginic acid and/or its salts, dietary fiber, edible fats, and oils, to achieve a texture and taste similar to soft-boiled eggs, with the gelled product surrounded by a fluid composition for enhanced flavor and moisture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mixture of soybean protein material and water is baked to produce a scrambled-egg-like food product, then the product can be made without using eggs, but it is difficult to realize the well-balanced softness and elasticity and the smooth texture with a soft-boiled taste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple plant-based milk materials (soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk) with alginic acid and/or its salts to create a composite gelled product. This composite approach allows the product to achieve well-balanced softness and elasticity while maintaining plant-based composition, resolving the contradiction between plant-based substitution and texture quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes specific parameters including the content of alginic acid and/or its salts (0.2% or more and 1.2% or less), protein content from plant-based milk (0.5% or more and 5.0% or less), and the ratio of gelled product to fluid composition (10% or more and 50% or less). These parameter adjustments enable the gelled product to achieve egg-like softness and elasticity while remaining plant-based.
2Manufacturing precision
If alginic acid and/or salt thereof is added to plant-based milk to create a gelled product, then softness and elasticity can be improved, but the content of additives increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies that the content of alginic acid and/or its salts in the gelled product should be 0.2% or more and 1.2% or less. This optimized parameter range achieves the necessary softness and elasticity for egg-like texture while keeping the additive content minimal and controlled.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution successfully replicates the softness, elasticity, and smooth texture of scrambled eggs, providing a plant-based alternative that maintains a moist and soft texture even after distribution and preservation, while offering a rich, egg-like taste.
Implementation Method 1
a gelled product containing one or more plant-based milks selected from soy milk, oat milk, and almond milk, and alginic acid and/or a salt thereof
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a scrambled-egg-like food product capable of reproducing a scrambled egg that has well-balanced softness and elasticity and has a smooth texture with a soft-boiled taste, and a cooked-egg-like food product using it. A scrambled-egg-like food product according to the present invention contains a gelled product and a fluid composition. The gelled product includes one or more plant-based milks selected from soy milk, oat milk, and almond milk, and alginic acid and/or a salt thereof. The fluid composition includes the plant-based milk.