Peh Felicia Zhi Wen, Zhao Lin, Chia Yin Yin, Ng Cheryl Kwoek Zhen, Du Juan
Food, Chemical and Biotechnology Cluster, Singapore Institute of Technology, 10 Dover Drive, Singapore, 138683, Singapore.
Department of Food Science, Purdue University, 745 Agriculture Mall Dr, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
Curr Res Food Sci. 2024 May 23;8:100775. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100775. eCollection 2024.
Hydrocolloids have proven effective in improving the texture of surimi gels, yet their application in plant-based seafood analogues remains underexplored. This study aimed to develop a hydrocolloid blend comprising methylcellulose (MC), curdlan gum (CG), and high-acyl gellan gum (GG) to achieve a surimi-like texture in plant-based fish cakes (PBFC) made from brown rice and pea protein isolates. The research showcased that higher MC concentration boosted protein powder's heated oil holding capacity, while CG concentration increments lowered it. However, heated water holding capacity remained stable despite changes in MC and GG levels. Incorporating hydrocolloids elevated PBFC moisture content, decreasing expressible moisture and oil amounts with rising MC, CG and GG concentrations. PBFC hardness increased with higher hydrocolloid levels and was influenced by temperature, while springiness remained unaffected. GG helped maintain storage modulus (G') during PBFC cooling at higher concentrations, whereas the opposite effect was observed for MC. Analytically, higher MC concentrations reduced protein digestibility, while increased GG concentrations appeared to enhance it. Microstructural analysis corroborated these findings, with more protein aggregates in PBFC containing 3.8% MC and fewer in PBFCs with 6% CG and 3% GG. Consumer evaluations indicated that PBFC formulated with 1% MC, 3% CG, and 1.5% GG matched the springiness of commercial surimi-tofu fish cake, though it received slightly lower overall liking scores. In conclusion, the combined use of these three hydrocolloids demonstrated the potential to enhance the physical properties of PBFC and modify protein digestibility, offering insights into the development of innovative plant-based seafood analogues.
水胶体已被证明能有效改善鱼糜凝胶的质地，但其在植物基海鲜替代品中的应用仍未得到充分探索。本研究旨在开发一种由甲基纤维素（MC）、凝胶多糖（CG）和高酰基结冷胶（GG）组成的水胶体混合物，以使由糙米和豌豆分离蛋白制成的植物基鱼饼（PBFC）具有类似鱼糜的质地。研究表明，较高的MC浓度提高了蛋白粉的热油保持能力，而CG浓度的增加则降低了该能力。然而，尽管MC和GG水平有所变化，热水保持能力仍保持稳定。加入水胶体提高了PBFC的水分含量，随着MC、CG和GG浓度的增加，可挤出的水分和油量减少。PBFC的硬度随着水胶体水平的提高而增加，并受温度影响，而弹性不受影响。在较高浓度下，GG有助于在PBFC冷却过程中保持储能模量（G'），而MC则产生相反的效果。分析表明，较高的MC浓度降低了蛋白质消化率，而GG浓度的增加似乎提高了蛋白质消化率。微观结构分析证实了这些发现，含3.8%MC的PBFC中有更多的蛋白质聚集体，而含6%CG和3%GG的PBFC中则较少。消费者评价表明，添加1%MC、3%CG和1.5%GG的PBFC与市售鱼糜豆腐鱼饼的弹性相当，不过其总体喜好得分略低。总之，这三种水胶体的联合使用显示出增强PBFC物理性质和改变蛋白质消化率的潜力，为创新植物基海鲜替代品的开发提供了思路。
