What are Alternative Proteins?
• It refers to other sources of protein aside from those obtained from animals
• Alternatives are protein-rich ingredients sources from plants, insects, fungi, or through
tissue culture to replace conventional animal-based sources
• Classified based on sources: insect, plant, lab
• 43% Canadian believe there will be an increase in consumption of plant based protein in
the future
• The alternative protein market is expected to grow 9.5% from 2019 to 2025 which is
approx., growth value of $17.9 billion
• Reason for increase largely due to health benefits and sustainable food production
Canada's Food Guide
• 2017 Cost of illness analysis study
• If 50% of Canadians consumed 100g/day of legumes
• $370 million would be saved in health care and loss of productivity
• Promotion of Canada's "new" food guide emphasizes more plant-based foods and lists
bans and lentils before nuts, seeds and lean meat
PDCAAS
• This table is representative of a variety of protein sources indicating it's protein
digestibility correct amino acid score
• The PDCAAS score means after digestion of the protein, it provides that much % of
essential amino acid required for humans.
• It is measurement of the quality of protein based on
1. Amino acid requirements of humans
2. Ability of humans to digest that amino acid
• This method of evaluating the quality of protein was adopted by FAO/WHO in 1993
,Plant based proteins
• Highest consumed alternative protein
• Made of soy, wheat, peanut and other sources
• Legumes are made up of soybeans, peanuts, pulses, fresh peas and beans.
• "Any plant whose fruit is surrounded by a pod / shell"
• Can be stored in a variety of formats for consumer consumption: dried, canned, processed
into isolates and flours
• Legumes have high levels of proteins and complex carbohydrates such as dietary fiber and
resistant starch, and low levels of fat. An important source of minerals such as Fe, Zn and
Ca
• Legumes
o Chemical composition of legumes vary between different types if seeds
o Average 100g of legumes (Dried) will provide 330-374 kcal
o With 20-35% consisting of protein
o 75-80% starch (each concentration varies with the different legume) ex.
soybeans have very low starch while peanuts consist of 30% starch
o Low in fat, approx 1-4% except 18% soybeans and 50% peanuts
o High in potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc, however, the iron is
in a form that our bodies have a hard time absorbing (a lot easier to absorb
iron from animal protein
• Soybeans
o Most common product is Tofu. It was first produced in china, and very
similar process to making cheese
o Most important step is coagulating the proteins
o Tofu comes in many different styles (firm, medium, soft etc) which is often
dependent on the moisture levels, the more water the softer the texture
o Tempeh vs Tofu, tempeh is made from crushed and fermented soybeans
and tofu form curdled soya milk
,• Texture Vegetable Protein (TVP)
o Made from a by-product of soybean oil production
o The protein is separated from the fat and formed into various shapes. The
size and shape of the final TVP product determines how it can be used in
cooking
o Shapes can be cubes, ground up (to look like ground beef), thick strips
o TVP is sometimes included alongside meat in dishes (meat pie, chili)
because it adds bulk, is often less costly than meat and allows the food to be
sold for a lower price
• Pulses
o Consist of dried legume seeds (beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils)
o Cooking pulses: a variety of methods such as boiling, cooking, microwaving,
roasting and extruding
o One must be careful on how beans are cooked as high temperature
treatments can affect the solubilisation of starch molecules and
denaturation / coagulation of proteins
o Traditional / home cooking of pulses
• "Washing the beans" - fill a bowl full of water and place beans
in, pick through them for foreign debris, rinse with water a
few times
• Soak the beans (pg. 140 course pack) there are three different
methods (quick, traditional and hot soak)
• Soaking the beans begins to hydrate the proteins, starch and
pectin in order to allow for denaturation, gelatinization and
solubilisation during cooking
• Soaking for a period of time will increase the digestibility of
starch molecules found in beans (the ability for us to digest
the starch and use as a source for energy). The soaking water
must be discarded and not used to cook beans
• Cook in boiling water (times vary on the density of the bean)
▪ It depends on the amount of time required to
coagulate the protein and gelatinization of
starch molecules
▪ Causes textural changes, protein and starch play
a role in texture perception
▪ Desired texture is soft but not mushy beans
▪ Soaking the beans in high pH (alkaline) can
shorten cooking time but can decrease the
firmness of the bean (hemicellulose
breakdown)
• A drawback to beans
o Consumption of beans can cause flatulence due to gases that produced in
the gut (the beans have a sugar that some people done have the enzyme to
break down
o Prevention:
• Never cook the bean in soaking water, the water contains
indigestible sugars
, • Skim off any foam / skum that forms on the surface of water
during cooking
• Add 'digestive' spices: dill, ginger, caraway
o Manteca bean (Jersey yellow bean) created in Chile under the American
space program, is said to be flatulence-free
• Isolating plant proteins (protein concentrates / isolates / flours)
o Two major methods for producing concentrated plant protein, dry or wet
fractionation
o Protein concentrate generally indicates the product with protein content
(30-40%) whereas protein isolate contains 80-90% protein
o Common wet method to extract plant protein is aqueous alkaline followed
by IEP. The plant protein is separated at pH 8-11, resulting in the protein
being dispersed in continuous phase, then the pH is adjusted to the IEP of
the protein you want to isolate, this allows the protein to be isolated,
extracted, dried and then milled into a powder
• Seitan
o Seitan is a meat substitute made from wheat gluten. Gluten is a protein
complex that is found in wheat (and some other grains)
o When the gluten is extracted, it forms a dense, sticky dough. This is typically
steamed or boiled to solidify the dough and enable it to be sliced
o Seitan has little flavour on its own, so it is often boiled in flavourful broths,
or had additional ingredients incorporated into the dough. Seitan can be
moulded to mimic meat products such as steaks
• Mycoprotein
o Microorganisms such as yeast, fungi, bacteria, algae are being developed as
a source od edible protein
o Can be grown quickly and cheaply
o Typically composed of whole, unprocessed, filamentous fungal biomass,
commonly known as mold
o Created in the 1980s, predominantly in the UK and Europe and recently the
US
o Is produced through fermentation of biological feedstock
o Fungi consists of 56% protein, 12% water, 3% fat, 3% CHO, 6% fiber and 2%
ash (High in fiber, low in carbohydrates, some Vit. B, good source of zinc and
low in iron)
o Production of mycoprotein
• Fungus (Fusarium venenatum) is fermented in optimum
conditions
• Cells are harvested, filtered and drained
• It can be grown in large quantities and formed into a solid
end-product. Egg albumin is used to bind the sheets of fungi
together
• In order to mimic meat, flavouring and colouring are added as
well it is given the texture to resemble meat
Alternative protein-Insects
• Consumption of edible insects has a long history in Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Growth is occurring in Europe and North America
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