High Moisture Extrusion for Plant Protein Texturization

A method to produce a protein food material with fibrous texture resembling meat and a chewy mouthfeel. The method involves extruding a vegetable protein-water mixture at high temperature (150-180°C) and then slowly cooling and swelling it inside a discharge die. This creates a porous structure with microvoids oriented in the fiber direction. The swelling and cooling profile is controlled to prevent scorching. The resultant protein food material has a high percentage of small voids (0.1 mm2 or less) with thin walls (200 μm or less) between them. This provides a fibrous texture and chewy mouthfeel similar to meat.

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A device for producing plant-based meat substitutes through wet extrusion processing with high moisture content. The device employs a uniaxial extrusion system with a single screw housing, featuring a pusher to pressurize the raw material hopper. The system includes a transfer belt for transporting the extruded protein, a cooling fan to maintain temperature control, and a cutting unit to process the protein. The device enables mass production of textured protein products with meat-like texture and structure through precise control of temperature, pressure, and moisture levels during extrusion.

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A process for preparing plant-based protein extrudates that enhances texture and mouthfeel through controlled gas formation during wet extrusion. The process involves preparing a plant-based protein mixture, then adding an acid and/or base that creates cavities in the matrix. The mixture is then wet-extruded through a die, where the acid and/or base release gas during the extrusion process, creating a network of air pockets that improve hydration and texture. The gas formation is precisely controlled to achieve optimal cavity formation, resulting in a homogenous texture with improved mouthfeel.

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Apparatus for processing plant-based protein foods that enables controlled production of fibrous structures through precise control of raw material properties and processing conditions. The apparatus comprises an extrusion device, a separation device, and a sorting station. The sorting station is equipped with a control unit that regulates parameters such as feed rate, back pressure, and residence time to optimize the formation of fibrous structures during wet texturization. The apparatus is designed to maintain consistent fiber alignment and structure characteristics across multiple production runs, ensuring reproducibility of the final product quality.

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Plant-based meat made from specific proportions of soy, pea, wheat proteins, flour, sodium alginate, and carrageenan. The plant-based meat is prepared by extrusion processing after crushing, sieving, and mixing the raw materials with adjusted water content. The resulting meat has texture, taste, and appearance closer to real meat compared to other plant-based meats.

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Producing protein food materials with fibrous and chewy textures through controlled expansion during extrusion. The method involves pressurizing, heating, and kneading a protein-containing mixture containing vegetable protein and water in a twin-screw extruder, then extruding the mixture through a die with controlled temperature profiles. The temperature at the expansion start point is set between 120°C and 140°C, with a specific expansion rate profile that maximizes void formation and wall thickness. This controlled expansion process creates a protein material with a fibrous structure and numerous microvoids oriented in the fiber direction, resulting in a material with a chewy texture.

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Using plant protein isolate as a replacement for calcium carbonate to improve the texture of meat and fish analogues made by extrusion. The method involves adding between 1-5.5% of insoluble plant protein isolate, like rice protein, to the extrusion mixture containing between 30-45% plant protein like wheat gluten or pea protein. The insoluble plant protein particles provide a fibrous texture similar to real meat without the calcium concerns of calcium carbonate. The plant protein isolate should have a narrow particle size distribution between 3-10 microns for optimal results.

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A device and method to improve the digestibility and absorption of high-moisture plant-based protein meat. It uses a twin-screw extruder with specific features and an enzymatic treatment to modify the protein structure and make it more easily digestible. The extruder has wider sections at the front and narrower sections at the back with a diverter plate between them. This limits the flow and increases the residence time to enhance protein denaturation. Additionally, an enzymatic treatment with pepsin and trypsin is applied to hydrolyze the protein further.

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A high-moisture soy protein extrudate with enhanced texture and structure for plant-based meat and egg products. The extrudate achieves optimal moisture content (65-75%) and protein content (35-25%) through twin-screw extrusion, enabling the production of diverse meat and egg alternatives. The unique processing parameters, including temperature and screw speed, precisely control the protein's molecular structure and texture formation, allowing for the creation of meat-like and egg-like products with improved texture and flavor characteristics.

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A method to make meat substitutes that mimics the texture, flavor, and appearance of meat without using methylcellulose emulsions. The method involves dispersing coloring agents, flavorings, and shelf life extenders in water, then mixing that with textured plant protein and plant protein powder. This is combined with binders, fats, salt, and water to form the meat substitute dough. Shaping and cooling the dough produces the meat substitute. This allows customizing the flavor, color, and texture of the meat substitute without needing separate methylcellulose emulsions.

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Twin-screw extrusion equipment for producing high-moisture pure pea protein artificial meat that overcomes the shortcomings of existing equipment for processing pea protein into meat-like textures. The equipment has a screw with a length-to-diameter ratio of at least 40:1, multiple temperature zones in the barrel, and a die connection device with a double-hole structure. This allows longer kneading time and better temperature control to form fibrous pea protein meat.

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A process to improve the texture and hydration properties of plant-based meat alternatives by using rapeseed protein, legume protein, and calcium carbonate. The process involves extruding a mixture of rapeseed protein, legume protein, and calcium carbonate to make texturized vegetable protein (TVP). The calcium improves hydration speed, water holding capacity, and density of the TVP compared to using just legume protein. This allows making meat alternatives with better texture and mouthfeel.

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A method for texturizing and tenderizing plant-based meat alternatives to make them taste more like meat. It involves using enzymes during the food processing to break down the plant protein fibers and create space between them. This reduces density and gives a meat-like texture and mouthfeel. The enzymatic treatment is applied dynamically during extrusion based on a recipe to optimize the plant protein meat analog texture and tenderness.

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A method and system for producing a high moisture content textured vegetable protein (TVP) from brewer's grains and other protein sources, enabling the creation of a versatile, ready-to-eat ingredient for food products. The process involves comminuting spent grains, followed by a multi-step extrusion process that produces a textured protein with a uniform fibrous structure. The resulting protein can be formulated into a wide range of food products, including vegetarian alternatives, with added micronutrients and flavor profiles.

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Process for preparing a vegetarian meat analogue product with improved taste and texture. The process involves hydrating textured plant protein along with dry flavorings, adding binders and oil to the hydrated protein, and shaping the resulting mass into the meat analogue. This allows better flavor delivery compared to adding flavors after hydrating the protein. Using emulsion binders and specific ratios of flaky and granular textured protein also improves texture.

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Twin-screw extrusion equipment and method for high-moisture vegetable protein that produces products with superior texture and appearance characteristics. The equipment incorporates a thermoelectric cooler that maintains optimal temperature conditions during the extrusion process. The cooler is integrated into the die head, where it maintains a consistent temperature between the protein material and the die, enabling the formation of a uniform and fluffy structure in the extruded product. This approach addresses the inherent challenges of vegetable protein processing, particularly in achieving the desired texture and appearance characteristics compared to animal-derived meat products.

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Extruded vegetable-based food products and meal replacements that provide high protein content and healthful ingredients, achieved through novel extrusion methods that preserve nutritional value. The products contain leguminous protein isolate, leguminous grits, and rice grains, along with vegetable oil, flavorings, and water, and are produced using a specific combination of ingredients that enables the formation of aerated bite-sized products with a density range of 50-90 g/L.

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A method for producing vegetarian protein-rich foods that mimic the texture and mouthfeel of meat products. The process involves mixing dehulled broad bean flour with protein-rich vegetable protein powders, creating a base mixture with 15-30% broad bean flour and 70-85% protein powder. The mixture is then hydrated and extruded through a specialized die to form a dough. The dough is then kneaded and cooled to achieve the desired texture, with the final product having a thickness of 2-30 mm and a temperature of 50-95°C upon exit from the die.

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High-moisture extrusion equipment for producing vegetable meat with improved mixing and filtration. The equipment has a sealed extrusion chamber with a screw, gearbox, and filter system. The screw has a male portion inside the chamber and a scraper portion outside the gearbox. The male screw meshes with gears inside the gearbox. The chamber has feeding and discharge ports. A sealing plate covers the chamber. A rotating screw rod connects to the sealing plate and outside filter orifice. This allows manual control of the screw rod to regulate the filtering of the vegetable meat as it extrudes through the chamber.

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A novel method for producing high-moisture extruded meat products from wheat protein sources. The process involves a unique feeding mode where the extruder's feed system is modified to deliver uniform dry material and water mixture directly to the extruder, eliminating the need for traditional extrusion steps. This approach enables the production of extruded meat products with improved texture and moisture retention characteristics compared to conventional methods.

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