Pea Starch Cross-Linking for Meat Texture and Cost Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food products, particularly meat and meat analogues, face challenges in achieving a satisfactory texture and organoleptic quality due to issues like stickiness and unnatural texture attributes, which are difficult to resolve with conventional starches used as binders or fat substitutes.
Innovation Solution
The use of native or cross-linked leguminous starches, such as pea starch, which maintains or increases the hardness of meat products and meat analogues without causing stickiness, mimicking the texture of products with a higher red meat proportion while reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional starches are used as binders in meat products, then cost is reduced and binding function is provided, but hardness decreases and stickiness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the starch structure through cross-linking with phosphates, transforming native starch into cross-linked starch derivatives. This chemical modification changes the physical and functional properties of starch, enabling it to maintain hardness and reduce stickiness while preserving binding functionality and cost-effectiveness in meat products.
2Ease of manufacture
If starch dosage is increased to reduce meat proportion and cost, then cost decreases, but hardness decreases and stickiness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes by chemically modifying starch through cross-linking, which alters its interaction with water and other ingredients. This modification allows higher starch dosages to be used without producing the harmful sticky effect, thereby reducing cost while maintaining acceptable texture qualities.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If fat content is reduced to improve health profile, then health benefits increase, but texture and mouthfeel deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs cross-linked starch as an intermediary substance that replaces fat in providing texture and mouthfeel. The modified starch creates a gel-like structure that mimics the sensory properties of fat, allowing reduced fat content while maintaining acceptable texture quality in meat products.
4Ease of manufacture
If native starch is used as binding agent, then binding function is provided and cost is reduced, but texture becomes unnatural and sticky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by chemically modifying native starch through cross-linking reactions. This transformation changes the starch's gelatinization behavior, viscosity, and interaction properties, eliminating the unnatural and sticky texture while preserving the essential binding function in meat products.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The present invention is relative to the use of native or cross-linked leguminous starches as food texture improver for meat products or free meat products.