IL284261A

IL284261A - Egg replacement compositions

Info

Publication number: IL284261A
Application number: IL284261A
Authority: IL
Inventors: Nimrodi Liron; Bernhardt Samuel; Hanoch Yael
Original assignee: Zero Egg Ltd; Nimrodi Liron; Bernhardt Samuel; Hanoch Yael
Priority date: 2021-06-21
Filing date: 2021-06-21
Publication date: 2023-01-01
Also published as: IL284261B2

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to egg replacement compositions comprising at least 10 wt% of protein(s) from a vegetable source, sodium chloride, natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. The composition of the present invention when prepared has organoleptic properties similar to that of a natural egg.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Eggs are one of the most widely consumed food products in the world. Eggs are a great source of protein, vitamins, iron amount other nutrients. In addition to their great nutritional value, eggs are also widely used and one of the essential ingredients in a variety of culinary applications, including savory and sweet baking and cooking. Eggs are useful in culinary since they provide a wide range of culinary properties, such as leavening, thickening, binding, coagulating, emulsifying and moisturizing.

Many attempts have been made to create an egg substitute that replaces the desired nutritional and culinary features of natural eggs. Some examples are mashed bananas and/or applesauce to replace eggs in baking, baking powder/baking soda mixtures to provide leavening, flour/water mixtures to provide binding and leavening. The drawback of such substitutes is that they provide only a single property of eggs in cooking. Most, if not all, egg supplements comprise water retaining compounds such as hydrocolloids or carbohydrates to preserve the texture of the compositions upon preparation.

Even though some egg replacers are commercially available, there is still a need for a good egg replacement that can replace a whole egg in all its culinary and nutritional features without adding non-necessary caloric value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising at least 10 wt% or at least 14 wt% of protein or a combination of proteins from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% of an edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 3% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 14 to 25 wt% of the protein or the combination of proteins. According to some embodiments, the 1 from about 1 to 4 % of the protein or of the combination. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises a combination of proteins. Thus, according to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising a combination of proteins each from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% of an edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises least wt% or at least 14 wt% of proteins and less than 3% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates.

According to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from 60 to 90 wt% of a high-Cys protein comprising e.g. from 1 to 3 wt% of Cys. According to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from 10 to 40 wt% of a low-Cys protein comprising e.g. up to 1wt% of Cys. According to some embodiments, the high-Cys- protein is (i) a soy protein isolate, (ii) a rice protein or rice protein isolate, (iii) or a combination of (i) and (ii). According to some embodiments, the low-Cys protein is a protein from Fabaceae. According to some embodiments, the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein, mung bean protein and any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the high-Cys-protein is a soy protein isolate and the low-Cys protein is pea protein.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention comprises from 10 to 40% of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 15% of protein from Fabaceae, from 0.01 to 1% sodium chloride, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of proteins and less than 1% of hydrocolloids.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 2 to 10 % of protein from Fabaceae.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 10 to 20 % of soy protein isolate.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.05 to 0.5% edible salt.

According to some embodiments, the edible salt is sodium chloride.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 2 to 25% of a vegetable oil. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil has neutral flavor. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is a natural vegetable oil or a derivative thereof. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is selected from sunflower, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises less than 0.1% of the hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. 2 colorant such as a turmeric coloring, beta carotene or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.005 to 0.5% of the food colorant.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition further comprises one or more taste maskers. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.005 to 0.5% of the taste maskers.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention further comprises an additional vegetable protein. According to some embodiments, the additional vegetable protein is selected from potato, pumpkin and hemp protein.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention comprises from 10 to 20 % of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 10% of pea protein, from 0.05 to 0.3% of sodium chloride, from 0.005 to 0.03% of Turmeric coloring, from 0.005 to 0.03% of beta carotene, from 0.01 to 0.5% of taste masker, from 1 to 10% of oil and water to complete to 100%, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of proteins.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention is in a form selected from a powder, paste or dough.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the pH of the egg replacement composition is from about 3 to about 12.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a food product comprising or prepared from the egg replacement composition of the present invention. According to some embodiments, the food product is a product that typically includes an egg. According to some embodiments, the food product is selected from a patty, scramble, egg bite, omelet, and bakery goods. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition may be pre-treated before cooking. According to some embodiments, the food product of the present invention has one or more organoleptic properties similar to food products comprising eggs, wherein the organoleptic property is selected from texture, taste, and flavor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Typically, egg replacement composition use high content of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates in order to preserve the structure, texture and palatability of products prepared from these compositions, such as omelets, patties, egg bites or scrambled eggs. Such compositions further require use of a large amount of flavors to mask the taste. Addition of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates is generally undesired due to their high caloric value on one hand and the 3 nutritionally detrimental on the other hand. Moreover, the products of the present invention lack enzymes typically used in food processing such as trans-glutaminase.

The present invention is based on an observation that it is possible to obtain high-quality egg replacement compositions by choosing a well-defined content of carefully selected proteins, salt and oils. Such egg replacement compositions allow the preparation of food products having palatability similar to that of eggs without adding undesired hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. The resulting food products received very high scores in independent tests and were comparable to natural egg in taste when consumed in the normal fashion.

Moreover, these products were better than the commercially available products in that they had no cholesterol, had high protein content and were low in calories. These products are also environmentally friendly and suitable for any vegan diet. In addition, food products obtained from the compositions of the present invention preserve the initial "egg like" spongy texture, presumably due to the protein matrix structure, are not subject to the conformational changes normally associated with hydrocolloids or gums over time or when the product temperature changes (cools or is reheated) and mimics eggs in that they have significantly reduced weight loss during cooking as a result of the higher water retention and substantially lower evaporation of water during heating.

According to some aspects, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising at least 10 wt% of protein(s) from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% of edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises at least 12 wt% or at least 14 wt% of protein(s) from a vegetable source. Thus, according to one aspect, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising at least 14 wt% of protein(s) from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% of edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises less than 3%, less than 2% or less than 1% hydrocolloids, carbohydrates or both hydrocolloids and carbohydrates. One additional advantage of the composition of the present invention is that the concentration of proteins is higher than in eggs typically comprising 6-13% of protein. The term "protein" is used herein to include molecules or molecular complexes having an amino acid sequence of sufficient chain length to produce a secondary structure and includes single polypeptide chains or protein complexes comprising two or more polypeptides. The term encompasses single type 4 and "combination of proteins" may be used interchangeably in some embodiments. The term "edible salt", as used herein, refers to a salt that is generally considered suitable for human consumption, particularly a non-toxic salt. Acceptable salts include base addition salts and acid addition salts of the corresponding free acid. Metallic salts include alkali metal salts, such as sodium and potassium salts, alkaline earth metal salts, such as calcium and magnesium salts. Organic salts include salts made from secondary, tertiary and quaternary amines such as diethylamine, triethylamine, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, and salts made from cationic amino acids such as arginine, lysine and histidine. Examples of suitable acid addition salts include hydrochloride, phosphate, hydrogen phosphate, acetate, aspartate, ascorbate, citrate, gluconate, lactate, succinate, tartrate, etc. According to some embodiments, the edible salt is sodium chloride. According to other embodiments, the edible salt is potassium chloride. According to one embodiment, the edible salt is calcium chloride.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises a combination of edible salts.

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising at least 14 wt% of protein(s) from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% of sodium chloride, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises from at least 15% or at least 16% or at least 18% of protein. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention comprises from about 14 to about 25 wt% of protein or a combination of proteins. According to some embodiments, the present invention comprises from 14 to 20 or from 15 to 18 wt% of the protein or the combination of proteins.

According to some embodiments, the content of the amino acid cysteine (Cys) in the protein or in the combination of proteins is from about 1 to about 4% of the protein or of the combination of proteins. According to some embodiments, the content of Cys in the protein(s) is from about 1.5 to about 3.5, from about 2 to about 3%.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises a combination of proteins. According to one embodiment, the content of Cys in the combination of proteins comprises from about 1 to about 4 from about 1.5 to about 3.5, or from about 2 to about 3%.

According to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from about 60 to about 90% of high-Cys proteins. The term "high-Cys protein" refers to proteins having a high content of cysteine, i.e. 1 % or more. The term "low-Cys protein" refers to proteins comprises 1 to 3% Cys. According to some embodiments, the high-Cys protein comprises 1.5 to 2.5% Cys or from 1.7 to 2.3% Cys. According to some embodiment, the low-Cys protein comprises from 0.01 to 0.99% Cys. The term "% of cysteine in protein" refers to the percent of the weight of cysteine amino acid out of the weight of dry protein, i.e. wt%.

According to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from about 65 to about 85%, from about 70 to about 80% of high-Cys protein.

According to some embodiments, the high-Cys protein is a soy protein isolate. According to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from 60 to 90%, from about 65 to about 85%, from about 70 to about 80% of a soy protein isolate. The term "soy protein" refers to proteins derived from whole soybeans which contain no non-soy derived additives.

Such additives may, of course, be added to a soy protein to provide further functionality or nutrient content in an extruded meat analog containing the soy material. The term "soybean" refers to the species Glycine max, Glycine soja, or any species that is sexually cross compatible with Glycine max. The term "soy protein isolate" as used herein is used in the sense conventional to the soy protein industry. Specifically, a soy protein isolate is a soy material having a protein content of at least 90% soy protein on a moisture-free basis.

"Isolated soy protein", as used in the art, has the same meaning as "soy protein isolate" as used herein and as used in the art. In some embodiments, the terms "soy protein" and "soy protein isolate" may be used interchangeably. The term "soy protein" also refers collectively to a mixture of two more soy proteins derived from soy beans. For example, a "soy protein" may be a mixture of soy proteins.

According to some embodiments, the soy protein isolate comprises from 80 to 99 wt% of soy protein. According to some embodiments, the soy protein isolate comprises from 85 to 95 wt% of soy protein or 90% or more of soy protein.

According to some embodiments, the high-Cys protein is rice protein. According to some embodiments, the high-Cys protein is rice protein isolate.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the combination of protein comprises from about 10 to about 40 wt% of a low-Cys protein comprising up to 1% of Cys. According to some embodiment, the combination of protein comprises from about 15 to about 35 wt%, or from about 20 to 30 wt% of a low-Cys protein. According to some embodiments, the low- Cys protein comprises from about 0.1 to about 0.8 % of Cys or from about 0.2 to about 0.7% of Cys. 6 according to some embodiments, the combination of proteins comprises from about 10 to about 40 wt% of the protein from Fabaceae. According to some embodiments, the combination of protein comprises from about 15 to about 35 wt%, or from about 20 to 30 wt% of the protein from Fabaceae. According to some embodiments, the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein, mung bean protein and a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the protein from Fabaceae is pea protein. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from about 10 to about 40 wt%, from about 15 to about 35 wt%, or from about 20 to 30 wt% of pea protein.

As it is used herein, the term "Fabaceae" or "Leguminosae" refers to a family of plants, commonly known as legume family, pea family or bean family. In the present invention, the term "pea protein" is the generic name given to any protein isolate obtained from yellow pea, Pisum sativum, seeds. "Pea protein" contains Legumin, which has some similar properties to Casein, and pea protein products are promoted as an alternative to whey protein.

"Pea protein" is worldwide sold under different trademarks such as, Nutralys®, and P80X, among others and it can also be prepared from pea cultivars by well-known routine methods, such as alkali extraction/isoelectric precipitation (AE-IP), salt extraction-dialysis (SE), and micellar precipitation (MP), among others.

Proteins found in peas are typically comprised of three classes of proteins: globulins, albumins and insoluble proteins. In a typical pea protein composition, the soluble proteins of the pea, i.e. the globulins (legumins, vicilins and concivilins) and albumins (predominantly the albumins PA1 and PA2) comprise about 85% of the total proteins. For the purpose of the present specification, the term "pea protein" may refer to any one or more of these individual, or groups of, proteins found in peas, more typically to a "pea protein" composition. Typically the "pea protein" used is a pea protein combination or composition, in the form of a pea protein isolate, pea protein lysate, pea protein hydrolysate, pea protein concentrate or coagulated pea protein composition. The terms "pea protein", "pea protein composition", "pea protein isolate" and "pea protein combination" may be used interchangeably herein. In an exemplary embodiment, the pea protein is extracted or derived from yellow peas. According to some embodiments, the term "pea protein" refers to pea protein composition/isolate comprising at least 80wt% of protein.

According to any one of the embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises a vegetable oil. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil has neutral flavor.

According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is a natural vegetable oil. According to 7 embodiments, the vegetable oils are selected from the group consisting of coconut oil, palm oil, palmist oil, soy oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, castor oil, corn oil, flaxseed oil, safflower oil, olive oil, avocado oil, soybean oil and sesame oil. According to some embodiments, the oil is selected from sunflower, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, and canola oil.

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising from 10 to 40% of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 15% of protein from Fabaceae, from 0.01 to 1% edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises at least 10 wt% or at least 12 wt% of proteins and less than 3% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising from 10 to 40% of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 15% of protein from Fabaceae, from 0.01 to 1% edible salt, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises at least 10 wt% of proteins and less than 3% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to one embodiment, the edible salt is sodium chloride. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises less than 1% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 2 to 10 % of protein from Fabaceae. According to some embodiments, the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein, mung bean protein and a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 10 to 20 % of soy protein isolate. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 12 to 18 wt% of soy protein isolate.

According to some embodiments, the comprises from 2 to 25wt% of the vegetable oil.

According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 2 to 10 wt%, from 3 to 7 wt%, from 10 to 20 wt%, from 12 to 18 wt%, or from 13 to 17wt% of the vegetable oil.

According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil has a neutral flavor. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is selected from safflower oil, cottonseed oil, and canola oil.

According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is a natural oil or a derivative thereof.

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising from 10 to 40% of rice protein, from 1 to 15% of protein from Fabaceae, from 0.01 to 1% sodium chloride, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of proteins and less than 3% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises less than 1% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some 8 According to some embodiments, the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein, mung bean protein and a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 10 to 20 % of rice protein. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 12 to 18 wt% of rice protein. According to some embodiments, the comprises from 2 to 25 wt% of the vegetable oil. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 2 to 10 wt%, from 3 to 7 wt%, from 10 to 20 wt%, from 12 to 18 wt%, or from 13 to 17 wt% of the vegetable oil. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil has a neutral flavor. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is selected from safflower oil, cottonseed oil, and canola oil. According to some embodiments, the vegetable oil is a natural oil or a derivative thereof. According to some embodiments, the composition further comprises cysteine amino acid. According to some embodiments, the content of Cys in the composition is from 1 to 4 wt% of the protein content.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.05 to 0.5 wt% of sodium chloride. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.07 to 0.4 wt%, from 0.1 to 0.3 wt% or from 0.1 to 0.2 wt% of sodium chloride.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises less that 1 wt% of hydrocolloids. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises less than 1 wt% of carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises less than 1 wt% of hydrocolloids and carbohydrates, collectively. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises less than 0.8 wt%, less than 0.6 wt%, less than 0.5 wt%, less than 0.3 wt% or less than 0.1 wt% of hydrocolloids and carbohydrates, collectively. According to some embodiments,, the egg replacement composition is devoid of hydrocolloids and carbohydrates. The terms "substantially devoid", "essentially devoid", "devoid", "does not include" and "does not comprise" may be used interchangeably and refer to composition that does not include, contain or comprise a particular component, e.g. said composition comprises less than 0.1 wt%, less than 0.01 wt%, or less than 0.001 wt% of the component. In some embodiments, the term devoid contemplates a composition comprising traces of the devoid component such as traces of a component used in the purification process. The content of the hydrocolloids in the composition may be tested by any known method.

As used herein, the term "hydrocolloid" refers to a broad class of water-soluble or water- dispersible polymers having anionic, cationic, zwitterionic or non-ionic character that forms 9 includes dietary fiber compounds. According to some embodiments, the hydrocolloids encompass also polycarbohydrates, such as starch, modified starch, dextrin, maltodextrin, and cellulose derivatives, and their quaternized forms; natural gums such as alginate esters, carrageenan, xanthanes, agar-agar, pectins, pectic acid, and natural gums such as gum arabic, gum tragacanth and gum karaya, guar gums and quaternized guar gums; gellan, konjac, gelatin, protein hydrolysates and their quaternized forms; synthetic polymers and copolymers, such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate), poly((met)acrylic acid), poly(maleic acid), poly(alkyl(meth)acrylate-co- (meth)acrylic acid), poly(acrylic acid-co-maleic acid)copolymer, poly(alkyleneoxide), poly(vinylmethylether), poly(vinylether-co-maleic anhydride), and the like, as well as poly- (ethyleneimine), poly((meth)acrylamide), poly(alkyleneoxide-co-dimethylsiloxane), poly(amino dimethylsiloxane), and the like, and their quarternized forms.

The term "carbohydrate" and "saccharides are used herein interchangeably and refer to a group that includes sugars, starch, and cellulose. The saccharides are divided into four chemical groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the egg replacement further comprises a food coloring. The terms "food coloring agent", "food coloring" and "food colorant" as used herein refers to an agent that affects the color of food and may be e.g. as defined by the US Food and Drug Administration. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.001 wt% to 0.1 wt%, from 0.005 wt% to 0.08 wt% or from 0.01 wt% to 0.06 wt% of the food colorant. According to some embodiments, the food colorant provides a yellowing color of the egg. According to some embodiments, the food colorant is selected from Turmeric coloring, beta carotene or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.005 wt% to 0.03 wt% of Turmeric coloring and from 0.005 wt% to 0.03 wt% of beta carotene.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the egg replacement comprises a taste masker. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.005 to 0.5% of the taste masker. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.01 wt% to 0.4 wt%, from 0.05 wt% to 0.3 wt% or from 0.075 wt% to 0.25 wt% of the taste masker.

The term "taste" refers to those sensations perceived through the stimulation of receptor cells or channels located in the taste buds or within the epithelium of the tongue, oral cavity and throat. While there are five tastes termed as "basic tastes"– sweet, sour salty, bitter and variety of taste and odors perceived and interpreted by the brain in what we call "taste".

Many plant based products have distinct and uneven (not well rounded) flavor profiles which leave, for instance, intense bitter, sour or astringent sensations. One method of "masking" such flavors is to use molecules which block the transduction pathway of the taste sensation (blocking receptors for example), another is to use a flavor which appears exactly where the offending flavor does in the flavor profile, thereby "masking" the offending flavor or creating an intense flavor which camouflages the offending taste sensation, yet another is "taste suppression" or "mixture suppression", where use of a metered combination of other flavors is perceived as less intense. According to some embodiments, the taste masker is a masker of bitter taste.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the egg replacement further comprises an additional vegetable protein. According to some embodiments, the additional vegetable protein is selected from potato, pumpkin, and hemp protein. According to some embodiments, the composition comprises from 0.0001% to 1% of the additional vegetable protein.

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides an egg replacement composition comprising from 10 to 20 % of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 10% of pea protein, from 0.05 to 0.3% of sodium chloride, from 0.005 to 0.03% of Turmeric coloring, from 0.005 to 0.03% of beta carotene, from 0.01 to 0.5% of taste masker, from 1 to 10% or from to 20 % of oil, and water to complete to 100%, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of protein.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the composition further comprises an edible excipient. The term "excipient" encompasses all solvents, dispersion media, preservatives, antioxidants, coatings, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, surfactants, fillers, disintegrants, binders, diluents, lubricants, glidants, pH adjusting agents, buffering agents, enhancers, wetting agents, solubilizing agents, surfactants, antioxidants the like, that are compatible with food. According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition comprises a compound selected from cysteine, cystine, methionine. According to some embodiments, the high-Cys protein may be substituted with a low-Cys protein with the addition of cysteine amino acids. According to some embodiments, the overall content of cysteine in the egg replacement composition is from about 1 to 4 wt% of the protein content. 11 present invention are natural products.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention has pH of from about 3 to about 12. According to some embodiments, the pH of the composition is from about 4 to about 11, from about 5 to about 10, from about 6 to about 9, from about 7 to about 8, or from about 6 to about 8. According to some embodiments, the pH is maintained using a pH modifying agent.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the composition comprises aggregates of proteins. According to some embodiments, Dv(10) of the combination is from about 60 µm to about 80 µm. According to some embodiments, Dv(50) is from about 160 µm to about 190 µm. According to some embodiments, the Dv(90) is from about 320 µm to about 350 µm. According to some embodiments, the Dv(10) of the combination is from about 60 µm to about 80 µm, the Dv(50) is from 160 µm to 190 µm and the Dv(90) is from about 320 µm to about 350 µm. The term "D90" or Dv(90) as used herein refers to the size value corresponding to cumulative size distribution at 90%, which represents the size of particles below which 90% of the sample lies. In other words, 90% of the particles in the sample have a size smaller than the value set in D90. Similarly, the terms Dv(10) and Dv(50) represent values below which 10 or 50% of particles lie.

According to any one of the above embodiments, the egg replacement composition is in a form selected from a powder, paste or dough.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition of the present invention has one or more organoleptic properties similar to an egg and at least one functional property similar or equivalent to a corresponding functional property of an egg. According to some embodiments, the at least one functional property comprises emulsification, water binding capacity, foaming, gelation, crumb density, structure forming, texture building, cohesion, adhesion, elasticity, springiness, solubility, viscosity, fat absorption, flavor binding, coagulation, leavening, aeration, creaminess, film forming property, sheen addition, shine addition, freeze stability, thaw stability, or color.

According to some embodiments, the egg replacement composition exhibits a gelation onset temperature above 75°C.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a food product comprising the egg replacement composition of the present invention. All above aspects, embodiments and definitions apply herein as well. According to some embodiments, the food product comprises an egg replacement composition comprising at least 14 wt% of a protein(s) from 12 a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids or carbohydrates. According to some embodiments, the food product of the present invention is selected from a patty, scramble, egg bite, omelet and bakery goods.

According to some embodiments, the food prepared from the egg replacement composition of the present invention has at least one organoleptic property similar to the food product prepared from egg, e.g. same texture, flavor and taste. According to some embodiments, the food product is prepared from the egg replacement composition of the present invention.

According to another embodiment, the food product comprises the egg replacement composition of the present invention.

According to some embodiments, the food product is cooked/prepared by any known preparation method. The term "cooking" may refer to the practice of preparing a food product for consumption from a food component with the use of heat. The term "cooking" may for instance refer to roasting, baking, boiling, frying, smoking, etc. Specific examples are e.g. grilling, broiling, flash baking, blanching, poaching, pressure cooking, steaming, deep frying, steam bath, etc. According to some embodiments, the food product is prepared by frying, cooking, boiling, baking or any other conventional methods of the composition of the present invention. According to some embodiments, the food product is prepared using any known devices like sous vide, oven, frying pan and so on. According to some embodiments, the food product is an egg-like product. According to some embodiments, the food product is selected from a patty, scramble, egg bite, and omelet. According to some embodiments, the food product obtained from the composition of the present invention is selected from meringue, crepes, omelet, frittata and egg bites. According to some embodiments, the food product comprising the egg replacement composition of the present invention comprises any food product that traditionally comprises egg. Non-limiting examples of such food products are noodles, pasta, ice cream, salad dressing, vegetable spreads, protein shakes and quiche. Other examples are baked products such as cakes, muffins, cookies, biscotti, pancakes, brownies, bread, scones, tarts, pies, pastries, waffles, pizza crust, profiterole, glaze, pie crust, and biscuits.

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides food products such as bakery products comprising an egg replacement composition comprising at least 10 wt% of a protein(s) from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1% edible salt such as sodium chloride, from 1 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises less than 4% of hydrocolloids. 13 before final cooking. According to some embodiments, the pretreatment is selected from high-shear, sonication, heat treatment or a combination thereof. The pretreatment of the composition may affect certain properties such as a solubility, turbidity, particle size, particle size distribution, free sulfhydryl groups content, surface hydrophobicity, viscosity, water holding capacity, oil capacity, and emulation stability. As such, the pretreatment may provide a uniform particle size distribution, higher free sulfhydryl groups content, more elevated surface hydrophobicity, higher viscosity, water holding capacity, oil capacity, or emulation stability. Upon pretreatment, the pretreated composition of the present invention may further be cooked to obtain the final product.

The compositions of the present invention allow the preparation of designed food. The composition of the present invention allow preparing different form and shapes and subsequently designing the food as desired.

The terms "a," "an," and "the" " are used herein interchangeably and mean one or more.

The term "and/or" is used to indicate one or both stated cases may occur, for example, A and/or B includes, (A and B) and (A or B).

The term "or," as used herein, denotes alternatives that may, where appropriate, be combined; that is, the term "or" includes each listed alternative separately as well as their combination if the combination is not mutually exclusive.

The terms "comprising", "comprise(s)", "include(s)", "having", "has" and "contain(s)," are used herein interchangeably and have the meaning of "consisting at least in part of". When interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term "comprising", features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner. The terms "have", "has", having" and "comprising" may also encompass the meaning of "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of", and may be substituted by these terms. The term "consisting of" excludes any component, step or procedure not specifically delineated or listed. The term "consisting essentially of" means that the composition or component may include additional ingredients, but only if the additional ingredients do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed compositions or methods.

As used herein, the term "about", when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, is meant to encompass variations of +/-10%, or +/-5%, +/ 1%, or even +/-0.1% from the specified value .

The invention will now be illustrated by the following non-limiting Examples. 14 through reference to the following examples, which are provided by way of illustration and are not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

EXAMPLES Example 1.Egg replacement formulations.

Recognizing that no single protein displayed the desired characteristics to effectively mimic hens’ eggs, we discovered that certain proteins whose structure were high in α- helix and low in β- pleated sheets were closest to hens’ eggs texture upon cooking (as measured using Circular dichroism).

While displaying some of the desired characteristics, the best examples of these proteins were typically too "hard" when cooked, creating a "bite" which was unpleasant in comparison to hens’ eggs. This was also the case when these proteins had high ratios of cysteine, encouraging inter molecular bonding.

Other proteins were too "soft" also creating a significant drift from the target hens’ egg "bite".

Typically, these deltas are compensated for by adding hydrocolloids, surfactants, emulsifiers etc.

While neither of these protein types displayed a marked change in the level of α- helix or β- pleated sheets presented before and after heating, we discovered a difference in the creation of protein aggregates or complexes.

We discovered that the proteins having a "hard" bite upon cooking displayed a marked reduction in smaller aggregates with a minor change to the larger aggregates, indicating the combination of the smaller aggregates into larger aggregates accompanied by a moderate increase in total protein surface area.

Some of the proteins which were "softer" displayed a relatively even reduction in aggregate sizes upon mixing, indicating some combined aggregates but also a significant reduction in larger aggregates all told, creating less of an organized structure.

We have prepared several mixtures of proteins (with additional components) as described in Formulations I-II.

Formulation I (NSP) Ingredient % of product Water 74.718% Pea protein 5.000% Chickpea protein 0.001% Potato protein 0.001% Salt 0.150% Turmeric coloring 0.015% Beta carotene 0.015% Masker soy 0.100% Oil 5.000% Overall 100.000% Formulation II Ingredient % of product Formulation II Formulation II (5% oil) (15% oil) Water 74.72% 64.72% Soy protein 15.000% 15.000% Pea protein 5.000% 5.000% NaCl 0.150% 0.150% Turmeric coloring 0.015% 0.015% Beta carotene 0.015% 0.015% Taste Masker 0.100% 0.100% Oil 5.000% 15.000% Overall 100.000% 100.000% We tested soy protein as a "hard" protein and pea protein as a "soft protein".

We have analyzed the relative change in aggregation for each protein, and their mixtures using laser diffraction to measure the particle size and particle size distribution of materials, or DLS before and hydration for 5 min. The results are summarized in Table 1. 16 "bite" family), we were able to change the aggregation of the combined protein mix to mimic that of the "soft" bite protein, resulting in a "bite" close and highly favoring the hens’ egg "bite" after cooking.

The resulting protein mix retained the high ratio of α- helix to β- pleated in the protein mix after hydration and mixing. The mixture of protein displayed aggregation behavior closer to that of the of the soft "bite" family, while retaining the Span or size distribution (Dv(90)- DV(10)/DV(50)) similar to that of the hard "bite" proteins accompanied by a higher increase in total protein surface area as a result of the resulting structure or matrix created.

Table 1.

Soy Protein Pea Protein NSP (micron) (micron) (micron) t=0 T=5min t=0 T=5min t=0 T=5min Dv(10) 81.1 56.2 44.8 32.2 70.9 45.7 Dv(50) 197 157 147 109 175 117 Dv(90) 350 321 325 252 336 253 Dv(X) represents a value in microns, X% of particles having the size of Dv(X) or less.

Example 2 We have tested effect of different components of the formulation on its properties. One of the tested factors was amount of salt. We prepared the composition as defined in Formulation I and varied the amount of salt from 0% to 1%. We further prepared scramble from these composition and compared the properties of these products. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2.

Sample Scramble no salt Scramble Scramble 0.5% IC 0.25% salt IC salt IC Springiness 4 4 3 Chewiness 3 3 3 Softness 6 7 8 Dense 5 5 structure 17 8 3 (texture) comments springy, needs to less springy than #1. No Too soft. Slightly be a bit softer. noticeable skin. mushy.

Good level of moisture It can be seen that there is an optimum amount of salt that had to be discovered and could not have been predicted.

Example 3 We compared petties and omelet prepared from the Formulation I of Example 1 and from the commercially available egg supplement produced by the company JUST (Scrambled JUST eggs).

Preparation of Patty 55gr of the final product (NSP or Scrambled JUST eggs) was baked in Oven for 10min at 110ºC (with Teflon non-stick ring).

Preparation of Omelet 55gr of the final product as above was fried on a frying pan as follows: 130ºC for ZeroEgg 100ºC for Scrambled JUST eggs The resulted food products were tested for weight loss (due to water evaporation) and change in dimensions by measuring the height. Considering that the products prepared from Just eggs were a priory very thin (about 0.3 cm), it was impossible to measure change in their dimensions.

The patties prepared from NSP have maintained their dimensions and lost about 2.7 wt% in their weight. Patties prepared from Scrambled Just eggs lost about 6.4wt%.

Omelets prepared from prepared from NSP have maintained their dimensions and lost about .3wt% due to water evaporation whereas Omelets prepared from prepared from Scrambled Just eggs lost about 18.2 wt% due to evaporation.

The composition of the present invention showed to be more heat-stable and pereformed better than Just scramble egg to water holding capacity and maintaining geometric shape.

This is especially evident for Omelet product. The composition of the present invention was prepared at higher temperature and lost about 2 times less in weight that the commercially available product. 18 We performed a survey of a vegan sandwich with the egg petty of the present invention where the tasters were asked to compare the results of this patty to a "standard" breakfast sandwich which traditionally includes a hens egg patty. The survey was performed among Flexitarians, vegans, vegetarians and other that are not included in the above groups. The following parameters were tested: overall score, taste, texture, color, purchase intent, etc, The results are summarized in the Table 3.

Table 3.

Recom Enjoyed Compare Number of mend How Texture Taste of Questions the Score to participants to often? of Egg Egg sandwich "regular" Friend Scale = 12 "liked a Occasio Same = 7 Lot = 10, nally = SCALE 1 to 10 slightly 1 to 10 Loved = 3 Often Better = 8 12" = 5 Flextrian 41 9.42 7.9 6.65 7.51 3.4 7.65 6.95 None of 32 9.53 7.84 6.5 7.47 3.4 7 6.9 Above Vegan 8 10.8 8.88 10.38 9 3.75 7.75 7.25 Vegetarian 4 10.8 8.75 8.75 8.5 4 10 8.25 Total 85 9.7 8.1 7.05 7.7 3.48 7.54 7 Just above Betwee "Same as n Regular "Occasi Just under Egg onally" "Liked a Sandwich and Comments Lot" " "Often" To summarize, the egg patty taste scored 7 (just above "same as a regular egg sandwich") and the texture 7.5 on a 1-10 scale, with slightly higher scores given by the vegetarian (5%) and vegan (9%) taste.

Example 5. Amino acid content of the formulation We tested the content of amino acids of the protein isolates used in the composition and the content of the amino acids in the composition. The results are present in Table 4 Table 4.

ZeroEgg Soy protein isolate Pea Protein NSP 19 of the composition Arginine 6.79 6.69 1.30 Cystine 2.71 0.68 0.40 Tryptophan 1.54 0.82 0.25 Histideine 2.76 1.99 0.49 Tyrosine 3.23 3.06 0.61 Leucine 7.71 6.92 1.43 Glutamic acid 16.93 13.24 3.04 Glycine 3.47 3.29 0.66 Proline 4.55 3.49 0.81 Methionine 1.29 0.84 0.22 Serine 4.66 4.20 0.87 Lysine 5.57 6.26 1.11 Phenylalanine 3.97 4.45 0.79 Threonine 2.95 3.03 0.57 Valine 4.16 4.26 0.80 Aspartic acid 10.57 9.51 1.97 Alanine 3.61 3.32 0.68 Isoleucine 3.55 3.97 0.70 Example 6 The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the consumer response to our patties prepared from the composition of the present invention as described in Formulation I in comparison to the market standard hens egg patties SYSCO in a standard breakfast sandwich.

As follows from the survey, no difference was found between the commercial hen’s egg patty and that prepared from the egg replacement composition of Formulation I (ZE Patties).

Experimental set up.

The sandwiches included a toasted English muffin, aioli, patty, cheese and arugula. No sausage or other veg were added to allow consumers to focus on the patties themselves.

Consumers were pre recruited to taste a "breakfast sandwich" without any mention how the patties were prepared (with appropriate allergen warnings).

First, the sandwiches comprising patties prepared from the composition of the present invention were tested for overall score and for patty score. Sandwiches comprising patties from hen eggs were tested the next day. After tasting sandwiches comprising egg replacement-based patties, the participants were asked to score the sandwich and the patty again and asked to describe what they liked or disliked about the product.

The results are summarized in Tables 5 and 6.

"Blind" Tasting No Questions Participants Like Sandwich Patty Taste Patty Texture ZE Patty 46 7.52 ± 1.74 7.44 ± 1.99 7.43 ± 2.3 HE Patty 47 7.59 ± 1.96 7.74 ± 2.10 7.93 ± 1.97 Statistically Different? NO NO NO Scale 1 to 10 1 to 10 1 to 10 Table 6.

"Surprise" - This is Plant Based Behavior Questions No Like Patty Patty Recommend If Price right how How Much Partici Sandwich Taste Texture to Friend often would you More Pay pants buy this for Plant Based 7.57 ± 7.37 ± ZE Patty 46 6.59 ± 2.2 4.17 ± 0.96 3.54 ± 1.05 $1.57 ± 1.1 2.01 2.14 HE Patty 47 3.87 ± 1.17 3.45 ± 1.19 $1.36 ± 0.88 Statistically p<0.1 NO NO Different? 1= Never, Scale 1 to 10 1 to 10 1 to 10 1 to 5 2.5=Occasionally , 5 = Often To conclude, in a blind consumer tasting test, conducted by a 3rd party, consumers could not differentiate between patties based on egg replacement composition of the present invention and the leading commercial hen’s egg patty in a regular breakfast sandwich. Patties prepared from the egg replacement composition of the present invention received the same score as the leading commercial hen’s egg patty for taste and texture. After the consumers were told that the ZE Patties were Plant Based, they scored the patty taste even higher than before.

After the test, the consumers were more likely to recommend the sandwich with the Zero Egg Plant Based Patties to a friend than a similar sandwich with the leading commercial 21 consumers had only positive things to say.

We asked separately whether the costumers liked and dislike the product. Ever after specifically asking for negative feedback, more that 50% of the customers had only positive feedback.

Although the present invention has been described herein above by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims 22

Claims

1. An egg replacement composition comprising at least 14 wt% of a protein or a combination of proteins from a vegetable source, from 0.01 to 1wt% of an edible salt, from 1 to 15 wt% of a natural vegetable oil, and water, wherein the composition 5 comprises less than 3wt% of hydrocolloids and wherein the content of the amino acid cysteine (Cys) in the protein or in the combination of proteins is from about 1 to 4 % of the protein or of the combination.

2. The egg replacement composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises from 14 to 25 wt% of the protein or the combination of proteins. 10

3. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 2, comprising a combination of proteins.

4. The egg replacement composition according to claim 3, wherein the combination comprises from 60 to 90 wt% of a high-Cys protein comprising from 1 to 3 % of Cys.

5. The egg replacement composition according to claim 4, wherein the high-Cys-protein 15 is selected from a soy protein isolate and rice protein.

6. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the combination comprises from 10 to 40 wt% of a low-Cys protein comprising below 1 % of Cys.

7. The egg replacement composition according to claim 6, wherein the low-Cys protein 20 is a protein from Fabaceae.

8. The egg replacement composition according to claim 7, wherein the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein, mung bean protein and a combination thereof.

9. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the 25 high-Cys-protein is a soy protein isolate.

10. An egg replacement composition comprising from 10 to 40 wt% of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 15% of protein from Fabaceae, from 0.01 to 1wt% sodium chloride, from 1 23 284261/2 to 15 % of a natural vegetable oil and water, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of proteins and less than 1wt% of hydrocolloids.

11. The egg replacement composition according to claim 10, wherein the composition comprises from 2 to 10 wt% of protein from Fabaceae. 5

12. The egg replacement composition according to any one claim 10 or 11, wherein the protein from Fabaceae is selected from pea protein, chickpea protein mung bean protein and a combination thereof.

13. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the composition comprises from 10 to 20 wt% of soy protein isolate. 10

14. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the composition comprises from 0.05 to 0.5wt% edible salt.

15. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the edible salt is sodium chloride.

16. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the 15 composition comprises from 2 to 25wt% of a vegetable oil.

17. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the vegetable oil has neutral flavor.

18. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the vegetable oil is a natural vegetable oil or a derivative thereof. 20

19. The egg replacement composition according to claim 18, wherein the vegetable oil is selected from sunflower, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil.

20. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the composition comprises less than 0.1wt% of the hydrocolloids.

21. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the 25 composition is devoid of hydrocolloids.

22. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the composition further comprises a food colorant. 24 284261/2

23. The egg replacement composition according to claim 22, wherein the food colorant is selected from Turmeric coloring, beta-carotene or a combination thereof.

24. The egg replacement composition according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the composition comprises from 0.005 to 0.5wt% of the food colorant. 5

25. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the composition further comprises a taste masker.

26. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 25, wherein the composition further comprises an additional vegetable protein.

27. The egg replacement composition according to claim 26, wherein the additional 10 vegetable protein is selected from potato, pumpkin, and hemp protein.

28. The egg replacement composition according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the composition comprises from 0.0001wt% to 1wt% of the additional vegetable protein.

29. The egg replacement composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises from 10 to 20 wt% of soy protein isolate, from 1 to 10wt% of pea protein, 15 from 0.05 to 0.3wt% of sodium chloride, from 0.005 to 0.03wt% of Turmeric coloring, from 0.005 to 0.03wt% of beta carotene, from 0.01 to 0.5wt% of taste masker, from 1 to 10% of oil and water to complete to 100%, wherein the composition comprises at least 14 wt% of proteins.

30. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 29, wherein the 20 composition is in a form selected from a powder, paste or dough.

31. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 30, wherein the pH of the composition is from about 3 to about 12.

32. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 31, wherein the composition has one or more organoleptic properties similar to an egg and at least one 25 functional property similar or equivalent to a corresponding functional property of an egg, wherein the at least one functional property comprises emulsification, water binding capacity, foaming, gelation, crumb density, structure forming, texture building, cohesion, adhesion, elasticity, springiness, solubility, viscosity, fat 25 284261/2 absorption, flavor binding, coagulation, leavening, aeration, creaminess, film forming property, sheen addition, shine addition, freeze stability, thaw stability, or color.

33. The egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 32, wherein the composition exhibits a gelation onset temperature above 75° C. 5

34. A food product comprising the egg replacement composition according to any one of claims 1 to 33.

35. The food product according to claim 34, wherein the food product is selected from a patty, scramble, egg bite, omelet and bakery goods.

36. A food product according to claim 35, wherein the egg replacement composition is 10 pre-treated before cooking.

37. The food product according to claim 35 or 36, having has one or more organoleptic property similar food product comprising eggs, wherein the organoleptic property is selected from texture, taste, and flavor. 15 Webb+Co. Patent Attorneys 26