FR3102039A1 - A method of preparing a protein food ingredient comprising a mushroom chopping step - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a protein food ingredient comprising a step of chopping mushrooms by at least one sharp blade to produce fragments with a larger dimension between 0.5 and 5 millimeters and a step of adding 'texturing agent in a proportion of between 1% and 20% and preferably 1% to 15% by weight and vegetable oil. It also relates to a protein food, in particular a substitute for minced meat or minced fish and a process for preparing such foods.

Description

Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient comprising a mushroom chopping step

Field of invention

The present invention relates to the field of protein food ingredients based on mushrooms, having a particular texture (for substitutes for meat or products from the sea, fishing or from aquaculture) close to that of minced meat or chopped fish.

Substitutes for meat or plant-based meat or fish seafood products are food products whose taste and aesthetic (mainly texture, flavor and appearance) and chemical qualities are similar to a certain type of presentation of meat or seafood.

The use of these substitutes is popular especially among vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians, non-vegetarians who want to reduce their consumption of animal protein for health or ethical reasons, as well as among people who follow religious dietary rules, such as kosher, halal or in Buddhist cuisine.

As a general rule, meat or fish substitutes are made from non-meat products and sometimes also exclude products of animal origin, such as dairy products and egg products.

The majority of these substitutes are based on soybeans, wheat, cereals, peas, various photosynthetic plants, bacterial or fungal cultures (Quorn®) which are denatured by chemical and mechanical treatment to obtain a product approaching a presentation of meat or fish which is then flavored.

Quorn® is a brand of mycoprotein-based meat substitutes. It is produced from the fungus Fusarium venenatum which occurs naturally in the soil. This fungus was accidentally discovered in 1967, in England, on ergot. It is grown in a fermenter. The main ingredient in these products is mycoprotein which is produced through a fermentation process. Once the process is complete, we then obtain a paste, from which we cut into different preparations to which we add egg white, in its raw state, or fat, spices, breadcrumbs for the most advanced formulas.

State of the art

Marlow Foods Ltd has filed several patents for meat substitutes based on mycoproteins and mushroom biomass. British patent GB2551964A describes, for example, a solution for reducing the level of RNA in a biomass comprising a filamentous fungus comprising the following steps: (i) heating the biomass, downstream of the fermenter, to a first temperature lying between 40 and 69 °C; (ii) heating the biomass to a second temperature which is 6 to 20°C higher than the first temperature, in order to facilitate the release of RNA from the cells of the filamentous fungus; and (iii) separating a filamentous fungus having a reduced level of RNA from other constituents.

We also know the European patent EP3292769 describes a method of producing a product without meat substitute meat or imitation meat.

In a first step, sporophores of edible mushrooms are crushed into pieces, at least a partial quantity of the sporophores being crushed into pieces with a minimum extent of 3 mm;

In a second step, ingredients comprising crushed fruit bodies of edible fungi in the range of 40-90% by weight, vegetable oil in the range of 2-20% by weight, a source of starch, in particular cooked rice, in the range of 2 to 15% by weight, animal and/or vegetable proteins in the range of 4 to 15% by weight, and salt in the range of 1 to 3% by weight are mixed into a mass of homogeneous production.

In a third step, the production mass is packaged at least in molded form.

In a fourth step, the production mass is heated in the at least one form, so that the vegetable or animal protein solidifies in the selectively open or closed form.

Disadvantages of the prior art

The solutions of the prior art produce a kind of fungal paste, obtained by grinding or crushing a biomass of mushrooms with a milled appearance, making it possible to prepare foods that taste like meat.

The prior art solutions are intended to prepare low-structured products such as substitutes for frying sausages, or "Leberkäse" popular in Germanic regions such as Austria and parts of Germany, Swabia, in Bavaria and Franconia, or such as surimi, or squares of fish.

However, the texture remains quite different from that of minced meat or fish, more popular in more Mediterranean regions, and does not give the same impression of chewing or grilling. The organoleptic qualities therefore remain quite far from that of a minced steak or breaded fish.

Solution provided by the invention

To remedy these drawbacks, the present invention relates to the preparation and use of fungal protein sources allowing better respect of all the organoleptic qualities.

To this end, the invention relates, in its most general sense, to a method for preparing a protein food ingredient comprising a step of chopping mushrooms with at least one sharp blade to produce fragments, having a largest dimension between 0 ,5 and 5 millimeters and of which, preferably, at least 80% has a shape factor of less than 3 and a step of adding texturizing agent in a proportion of between 1% to 20% and preferably 1% to 15% by weight and vegetable oil.

By texturizing agent we mean a compound that modifies the texture of the ingredient. These include, but are not limited to, all-inclusive corn crumbs, preferably between 0.5 and 3%, textured pea protein (2 to 5%), potato proteins (1 to 5%), chickpea flour (2 to 4%), plantain fibers (0.1 to 3%).

Advantageously, said mushrooms are of the Pleurotus type, fresh or rehydrated after said chopping step.

According to preferred embodiments, said texturizing agents consist of:

• Psyllium,
• From an extruded vegetable protein composition.
• A powdery or textured composition prepared from vegetable proteins, in particular dried peas and/or chicory roots.

Advantageously, said oils comprise rapeseed oil and/or coconut oil and/or palm oil and/or corn oil for the meat substitutes and/or rich oil in omega 3 for fish preparations.

The invention also relates to protein foods, in particular meat or fish substitutes consisting of a composition of the aforementioned protein food ingredients.

Within the meaning of this patent, the term “meat or fish substitute” means a meat or fish substitute whose appearance, texture, chewiness (perception during chewing) and/or flavor are similar to a certain type of meat or fish, in particular when the meat or fish is minced and cooked.

The invention also relates to a method for preparing a protein food, in particular a meat or fish substitute, consisting of a composition of protein food ingredients referred to above, characterized in that a mass of said composition placed without a mold in an oven or on a pan.

The invention also relates to a protein dish composed of a mixture of minced meat or minced fish and the protein food ingredient, or a composition of protein food ingredients referred to above.

Advantageously, the amount of meat or fish is less than or equal to 90% by weight, preferably less than 65% and even more preferably between 55% and 51% to retain a dominant taste of meat or fish respectively.

The invention also relates to a protein dish composed of a mixture of minced meat and a protein food composition referred to above as well as a protein dish composed of a mixture of minced fish and a composition of protein food ingredients referred to above.

Detailed description of a non-limiting example of the invention

The present invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description of a non-limiting example of the invention which follows.

General principles of the invention

In order to remedy the drawbacks of the solutions of the prior art, concerning the organoleptic qualities of texturing and the possibility of "grilling", the invention is distinguished in the first place by the mode of fragmentation of the sporophores of mushrooms.

The invention relates to a chopping by one or more sharp blades or cutting wires preserving the texture and the structure of the fungal mass between the cutting lines, unlike the solutions of the prior art which are based on a principle of grinding, leading to a crushing of the fungal biomass to produce a kind of paste. The use of the term 'meat grinder' in some earlier documents should not be interpreted as 'mincing' as meat grinders (also called 'grinders') actually operate by crushing the mass of meat driven by a screw endlessly against a perforated grid, effectively producing grinding and not cutting into fragments retaining textural integrity. The targeted particle size is between 1.5x1.5x1.5 mm and 4x4x4 mm, in a relatively regular and constant manner, with a form factor of less than 3 and preferably less than 2 and even more preferably less than 1.5, for 80% of the fragments, and preferentially for 90% and even more preferentially for 97% of the fragments by weight.

A second major difference concerns the absence of starch, used in the solutions of the prior art as a binder. In suspension in water, starch milk is obtained, an unstable suspension but which, heated to 60°C, becomes viscous and translucent, starting the process of starch gelatinization which forms a starch.

Starch is a complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide or polysaccharide) made up of chains of molecules of D-glucose (simple sugar).

The solution according to the invention avoids the use of starch (or in any case provides for less than 1% of starch by weight) by exploiting on the one hand the glycogen present in the mushrooms, equivalent to starch, and completes the structuring of the mass obtained by adding texturizing agents, in particular plantain (psyllium seeds) and/or pea protein.

Psyllium is used in the food industry for its thickening and stabilizing properties, psyllium can also be used in cooking to make gluten-free recipes softer with better cohesion, a bit like gums (xanthan, guar, acacia, etc.) which are less well tolerated than psyllium but can nevertheless be used in the invention.

Pea protein stabilizes emulsions, limits water loss and increases “juiciness”.

According to another different, optional, preparation is made from fresh, unfrozen and/or cooked and/or frozen mushrooms or chopped mushrooms according to the invention or rehydrated.

The prepared minced ingredients can constitute protein additives to be added to culinary preparations, or intermediate products for the preparation of meat or fish substitutes, or for the enrichment of food products.

For these culinary preparations, another major difference concerns the method of cooking without a mould, to promote the Maillard reaction in the presence of glycogen on the surface of the mass introduced into an oven and the formation of a surface layer resulting from the glycogen as c is the case in real meat or fish on proteins to give a grilled flavor, a natural browning without the addition of coloring and an improvement in organoleptic quality compared to masses cooked in a homogeneous way to form bread substitutes of meat proposed in the prior art.

First example of realization

The first embodiment relates to the preparation of protein ingredients from mushrooms of the genus Pleurotus , in particular of the Pleurotus eryngii type, or oyster mushroom, or of the Pleurotus ostreatus type; and more particularly unbranched stems of oyster mushrooms. For this purpose, the cap and the unbranched part of the stipe (or foot) are separated, to be used directly in mushrooms marketed as such, and the aerial part forms a bulb of higher density and lower humidity presenting a lower market value per elsewhere, used for the preparation of protein ingredients.

The bulb thus recovered is introduced into a chopper with thin steel blades, of the cutter blade type rotating horizontally or vertically, to produce fragments falling within a volume envelope of approximately 4x4x4 millimeters, of relatively parallelepiped shape, with a factor of shape less than 3.

By form factor, we mean the ratio between the largest dimension of a fragment and the smallest dimension of this same fragment.

These ingredients are then kept fresh to be incorporated into culinary preparations, or to undergo secondary processing.

Example of ground beef substitute

Another use is in the preparation of ground beef substitutes.

The cutting of the oyster mushroom stems is done from fresh mushrooms. To this base can be added textured pea proteins, binders, powdered proteins, yeasts, herbs, natural flavors as well as ingredients with coloring properties. The steaks are formed by hand or by machine. They have a mass between 70 and 150g before cooking.

Cooking is done in an oven, dry heat, at 200°C for a period of between 10 and 18 minutes.

The “vegetable discs” are packaged in 2 pieces per tray in PolyPropylene or Polyethylene terephthalate or crystalline polyethylene terephthalate. A device will heat seal a transparent protective film on top of the tray, while modifying the initial atmosphere. The atmosphere inside the tray will be a so-called protective atmosphere, which consists of two gases: C and N2 in proportions ranging from 20/80 to 60/40. Heat-sealed trays are stored in positive cold.

Example of an ingredient in accordance with the invention

By way of example, an ingredient according to the invention is prepared from the following elements, for a total weight of the elements of 100 grams:

- Between 59 and 90 grams of fresh oyster mushrooms, and preferably 70 to 80 grams, and advantageously the unbranched part of the oyster mushrooms forming a kind of massive bulb extended on one side of the mycelium and on the other side of the differentiated feet and heads.

These oyster mushrooms are chopped with a sharp blade to form small roughly parallelepipedal blocks, 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters on a side, which remain individualized and do not form a paste as in the solutions of the prior art.

These small blocks are then mixed with the following:

- Between 1 and 8 grams of textured vegetable protein, and preferably 2 to 5 grams, for example textured pea protein,

- Between 1 and 5 grams of vegetable flour, and preferably 2 to 4 grams, for example chickpea flour

- Between 0.5 and 3 grams, preferably between 1 and 2 grams of corn crumbs

- Between 4 and 10 grams of vegetable oil, preferably 6 to 7.5 grams of oil, for example deodorized rapeseed oil

- Between 0.1 and 3 grams of vegetable fiber, and preferably between 0.3 and 1.2 grams, for example psyllium

- Between 1 and 5 grams of vegetable protein, preferably between 2 and 4 grams, for example potato protein

- And additives such as ingredients with coloring properties, salt, ground pepper, natural flavors,...

This ingredient can be used as a food supplement incorporated into a culinary preparation, or assembled in the form of a mass placed without a mold in an oven or in a pan, for about twenty minutes.

Claims (12)

Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient comprising a step of chopping mushrooms with at least one cutting blade to produce fragments of a size between 0.5 and 5 millimeters and a step of adding a texturizing agent to a proportion of between 1% and 20% and preferably 1% to 15% by weight and vegetable oil. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to claim 1, characterized in that the said chopping step is configured to produce fragments of which at least 80% have an aspect ratio lower than 3. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said mushrooms are of the Pleurotus type, fresh or rehydrated after the said chopping step. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said texturizing agents consist of psyllium. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said texturizing agents consist of an extruded vegetable protein composition. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said texturizing agents consist of a pulverulent composition prepared from vegetable proteins, in particular dried peas and/or chicory roots. Process for the preparation of a protein food ingredient according to claim 1 characterized in that said oils comprise rapeseed oil and/or coconut oil and/or palm oil and/or corn oil and/or oil rich in omega 3. Protein food, in particular a meat or fish substitute, consisting of a composition of protein food ingredients of sliced mushroom fragments with a size of between 0.5 and 5 millimeters, of a texturizing agent in a proportion of between 1 % and 20% and preferably from 1% to 15% by weight and vegetable oil. Process for the preparation of a protein food, in particular a meat or fish substitute, consisting of a composition of protein food ingredients according to claim 8, characterized in that a mass of the said food composition placed without a mold in an oven or on a pan. Protein dish composed of a mixture of minced meat or fish and a protein food composition according to claim 8. Protein dish composed of a mixture of minced meat and a protein food composition according to claim 8. Protein dish composed of a mixture of minced fish and a composition of protein food ingredients according to claim 8.