FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a plant based meat substitute, which is especially usable as a plant based minced meat substitute and to a method for manufacturing the meat substitute. The invention also relates to a plant based meat substitute intermediate product and its

manufacturing process. The invention further relates to the use of low temperature extrusion in the manufacturing process of the plant based meat substitute intermediate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For decades it has been known to substitute meat products with plant based products. Usually these products are produced by conveying a suspension of protein-rich plant material through an extruder at high temperature and pressure. In addition to protein-rich material, the suspension may contain e.g. cereal material. Extrusion at high temperatures has been required for the protein to form fiber-like structures imitating muscle strings in meat, i.e. for texturizing the plant protein product.

It would be desirable from a nutritional point of view if the plant based meat substitute would contain a high amount of conventional oat material such as whole grain oat flour or oat bran. In addition to fulfilling the consumer demand on responsibly produced foods, such a product would provide high contents of nutritionally beneficial components e.g. dietary fiber and especially beta-glucan. General dietary recommendations promote the use of a diet with high contents of dietary fibers. For example in Finland, the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber is 25-35 g, where the average intake by both men and women is lower (22 g and 21 g respectively)

(Helldan A. et al„ The National FINDIET 2012 Survey. Report 16/2013, Helsinki 2013, ISBN 978-952-245-951-0). As meat products such as products made from minced meat are practically void of dietary fiber, the consumption of plant based meat substitute with high dietary fiber content would be a convenient way of incorporating additional dietary fiber into the diet. Beta-glucan containing foods have been awarded health claims e.g. related to the maintenance of healthy cholesterol levels or to the reduction of blood cholesterols levels. E.g. EU has approved the following cholesterol lowering health claim for beta-glucan from oat and barley: “Beta-glucan has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease”. The further requirement is that information shall be given to the consumer that the beneficial effect i.e. efficient blood cholesterol lowering is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of beta-glucan. However, most of the commercially available food products marketed with a cholesterol lowering health claim deliver 1 g beta-glucan per serving and unfortunately the foods marketed with such cholesterol lowering claim are typically of such nature that they are customary consumed only once per day. Thus from a practical point of view the health benefit of lowering blood cholesterol with beta-glucan from such products remain limited. Thus there is a clear need for commercial products that deliver higher amounts of beta-glucan than 1 g/serving.

It would also be desirable if the plant based meat substitute would contain as few additives as possible as so-called clean label food products are in high demand as consumers seek to avoid foods with many additives in the list of ingredients.

It would also be desirable if the plant based meat substitute would contain a relatively low amount of legume protein because this would improve the taste and thus the consumer acceptance of the product. The bitter beany taste of legume protein would be reduced also by the high content of oat material masking it.

It would also be desirable to produce a plant based meat substitute intermediate product, which would remain stable and of good quality when stored at ambient temperature for several months. This would bring flexibility to the production as the final meat substitute could be manufactured from this intermediate product according to demand. In addition the intermediate product could be delivered to other production facilities for the final production of the plant based meat substitute.

It would also be desirable to further improve the health benefits of the meat substitute beyond those conferred by the high fiber and beta-glucan content by adding other functional ingredients during the production of the meat substitute e.g. ingredients having a further blood cholesterol lowering effect such as plant sterols and/or plant stanols and their esters.

The current invention fulfils at least one of these desires.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a plant based meat substitute according to independent claim 1. The invention is also directed to a plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to independent claim 27. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute according to independent claim 31 , as well as a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to claim 39.

Further, the use of low temperature extrusion and optional drying according to independent claims 43 and 44 form a part of the invention.

Preferable embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

FIGURES

Figure 1 shows the water absorption (%) of plant based meat substitutes prepared with a low temperature extrusion process (LTF) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTF) in a cooking test.

Figure 2 shows the appearance of plant based meat substitutes prepared with a low temperature extrusion process (LTF) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTF) after 10 minutes of cooking.

Figure 3 shows the water absorption (%) of plant based meat substitute intermediate products prepared with a low temperature extrusion process (LTI) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTI) after 30 minutes of soaking in water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant based meat substitute containing oat material, plant protein material and water. The plant based meat substitute contains 50-85% by dry weight oat material. The plant based meat substitute has a protein content of 25-55% by dry weight. It has a dietary fiber content of at least 5.0% by dry weight and a beta-glucan content of at least 2.5% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute according to the invention further contains 30-55% water by weight.

It was surprisingly found that plant based meat substitutes with a high level of dietary fiber and beta-glucan as well as a high content of oat material could be produced opposite to prior teachings. This was accomplished by using a low temperature extrusion process for producing a meat substitute intermediate product. Such an intermediate product showed optimal water absorption properties and resulted in a meat substitute after heat treatment that had similar The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute according to independent claim 31 , as well as a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to claim 39.

Further, the use of low temperature extrusion and optional drying according to independent claims 43 and 44 form a part of the invention.

Preferable embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

FIGURES

Figure 1 shows the water absorption (%) of plant based meat substitutes prepared with a low temperature extrusion process (LTF) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTF) in a cooking test.

Figure 2 shows the appearance of plant based meat substitutes prepared with a low

temperature extrusion process (LTF) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTF) after 10 minutes of cooking.

Figure 3 shows the water absorption (%) of plant based meat substitute intermediate products prepared with a low temperature extrusion process (LTI) and a high temperature extrusion process (HTI) after 30 minutes of soaking in water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant based meat substitute containing oat material, plant protein material and water. The plant based meat substitute contains 50-85% by dry weight oat material. The plant based meat substitute has a protein content of 25-55% by dry weight. It has a dietary fiber content of at least 5.0 g by dry weight and a beta-glucan content of at least 2.5% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute according to the invention further contains 30-55% water by weight.

It was surprisingly found that plant based meat substitutes with a high level of dietary fiber and beta-glucan as well as a high content of oat material could be produced opposite to prior teachings. This was accomplished by using a low temperature extrusion process for producing a meat substitute intermediate product. Such an intermediate product showed optimal water absorption properties and resulted in a meat substitute after heat treatment that had similar textural properties as corresponding meat products. The plant based meat substitute produced according to the invention showed good textural properties and did not absorb too much water nor disintegrate in a cooking test.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute is a minced meat substitute.

By the term“plant based” in“plant based meat substitute” is here meant that the ingredients are substantially of plant origin, i.e. at least 90%, preferably at least 95% of the ingredients are of plant origin. The“plant based meat substitute” is essentially, such as at least 99% and preferably 100%, free from ingredients of animal origin, such as milk or egg proteins. The advantages of the plant based meat substitute thus include suitability to vegetarian diets.

The plant based meat substitute according to the invention is herein also called meat substitute.

By the term“oat material” is herein meant oat material obtained from whole grain oat. The oat material used in the current invention therefore includes the following materials: whole grain oat flour, oat groats, steel-cut oats, oat flakes, oat bran, oat bran flour, oat endosperm, oat endosperm flour, oat fractions enriched in dietary fiber and oat fractions enriched in beta-glucan or mixtures of any of these. Whole grain oat is the part of the grain from which the hull has been removed. Preferred oat materials are whole grain oat flour, oat bran and endosperm flour or mixtures thereof. The most preferred oat materials are whole grain oat flour and oat bran or mixtures thereof.

By the term“plant protein material” is meant food ingredients containing at least 20 % by weight of protein and being of plant origin. Typically plant protein material contains at least 30% by weight of protein. The protein content of the plant protein material is preferably at least 50%, more preferably at least 60%, even more preferably at least 70% and most preferably at least 80% by dry weight. This means that plant protein concentrates and/or isolates preferably are utilised for providing the plant protein to the meat substitute. By the term“plant protein” and by corresponding terms identifying the source of the protein, such as e.g.“tuber protein”, is meant the protein derived from the material in question. For example 1 kg (dry weight) of a“plant protein material” having a protein content of 80% by dry weight, delivers 800 g of“plant protein” by dry weight.

The plant protein material used in the present invention contains preferably at least one plant protein selected from tuber protein, legume protein, seed protein and cereal protein. It was further noticed that excellent plant based meat substitutes could be obtained when the plant protein contains either tuber protein or legume protein or a mixture of them. Thus the plant protein preferably contains at least one of tuber protein and legume protein, and more preferably it contains at least tuber protein.

The plant based meat substitute contains plant protein material preferably in an amount of 15- 50%, more preferably 17-47%, even more preferably 20-45% and most preferably 25-43% by dry weight.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute contains tuber protein in an amount of at most 40%, more preferably at most 30% and most preferably at most 25% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute contains preferably tuber protein in an amount of at least 6.0%, more preferably at least 8.0% and most preferably at least 10% by dry weight. The tuber protein can contain at least one of potato, sweet potato, yams and cassava protein. Preferably the tuber protein contains potato protein and most preferably the tuber protein is potato protein.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute contains legume protein in an amount of at most 25%, more preferably at most 20% and most preferably at most 15% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute contains preferably legume protein in an amount of at least 5.0%, more preferably at least 8.0% and most preferably at least 10% by dry weight. The legume protein can contain at least one of soybean, pea, cowpea, chickpea, lentil, kidney bean, mung bean, broad bean, lupine, peanut and e g. brown, white or black bean protein. Preferably the legume protein contains pea protein and most preferably the legume protein is pea protein.

The plant protein material preferably contains tuber protein and/or legume protein. The amount of tuber and/or legume protein in the meat substitute is preferably 10-35%, more preferably 15- 33% and most preferably 17-30% by dry weight.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute contains cereal protein in an amount of at most 40%, more preferably at most 30% and most preferably at most 20% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute contains preferably cereal protein in an amount of at least 6.0%, more preferably at least 8.0% and most preferably at least 10% by dry weight. The cereal protein is preferably selected from at least one of rice, barley, rye, corn, wheat and oat protein. Preferably the cereal protein is a non-oat cereal protein, i.e. it is a cereal protein excluding oat protein. Thus, the cereal protein is more preferably selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, rye and corn protein or mixtures thereof. Most preferably the cereal protein is rice protein. Preferably the plant based meat substitute contains seed protein in an amount of at most 40%, more preferably at most 30% and most preferably at most 20% by dry weight. The plant based meat substitute contains preferably seed protein in an amount of at least 6.0%, more preferably at least 8.0% and most preferably at least 10% by dry weight. The seed protein is preferably selected from at least one of rapeseed, hemp seed, sunflower seed, flax seed, pumpkin seed, sesame seed and melon seed protein. Most preferably the seed protein is rapeseed protein.

The plant based meat substitute preferably contains potato and pea protein, preferably at a weight ratio of 1 :30-30:1 , more preferably 1 :9-9: 1 and most preferably 1 :1-9:1. Preferably the content of pea protein in the meat substitute should not be too high. It was surprisingly found that by using a suitable blend of potato and pea protein in addition to the oat material a meat substitute having a high fiber and beta-glucan content, and similar colour and sensory attributes as lightly fried or cooked minced meat could be obtained.

Another preferred plant based meat substitute could be obtained using a plant protein material containing rice and pea protein, preferably at a weight ratio of 1 :30-30: 1 , more preferably 1 :9- 9:1 and most preferably 1 :1 -9:1.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute according to the present invention contains oat material in an amount of 53-83%, more preferably 55-80% and most preferably 57-75% by dry weight. Preferably the oat material contains oat bran in an amount of 25-75% and whole grain oat flour in an amount of 25-75% by weight of the oat material.

Preferably the plant based meat substitute according to the invention is essentially free of food additives and thus fulfills the requirements of clean label food products. By using high contents of oat material food additives such as hydrocolloids can be avoided. Thus the plant based meat substitute of the invention does not contain added hydrocolloids such as pectin, gelatin and alginate. However, the plant based meat substitute may contain at least one additional component. By“additional component” is herein meant e.g. spices, salts, vitamins, minerals and health improving agents such as an additional cardiovascular health improving agent other than oat beta-glucan.

The plant based meat substitute according to the invention can have an oat protein content of 5.0-25%, preferably 6.0-20% and most preferably 7.0-16% by dry weight. The oat material is preferably selected from the group consisting of whole grain oat flour, oat groats, steel-cut oats, oat flakes, oat bran, oat bran flour, oat endosperm, oat endosperm flour, oat fractions enriched in dietary fiber and oat fractions enriched in beta-glucan or mixtures thereof. More preferably oat material is selected from whole grain oat flour, oat bran and endosperm flour or mixtures thereof. Most preferably the oat material is selected from whole grain oat flour and oat bran or mixtures thereof. Preferably the oat bran has a particle size distribution as follows: at least 50% by weight of the particles are retained on a sieve of 530 p . The oat material of the meat substitute according to the invention has a protein content of preferably at most 19% and more preferably at most 18% by dry weight. This measure relates to the protein content of total oat material used in the plant based meat substitute. For example, if the oat material consists of a mixture of whole grain oats and oat bran, the preferred protein content of the mixture is at most 19% and more preferably at most 18% by dry weight. Preferably no oat protein concentrate or oat protein isolate is used in the meat substitute. Preferably the oat material has a total lipid content of at least 4.0 %, preferably at least 5.0% of dry weight.

The plant based meat substitute according to the invention preferably has a carbohydrate content of 20-50%, more preferably 22-45% and most preferably 25-43% by dry weight.

The plant based meat substitute according to the present invention preferably has a beta-glucan content of at least 2.8%, preferably at least 3.0%, more preferably at least 3.5%, even more preferably at least 4.0%, still more preferably at least 4.5%, further more preferably at least 4.7% and most preferably at least 5.0% by dry weight. The amount of beta-glucan is preferably at most 12%, more preferably at most 10% and most preferably at most 8.0% by dry weight of the meat substitute.

The plant based meat substitute preferably has a dietary fiber content of at least 7.0%, preferably at least 9.0%, more preferably at least 10%, even more preferably at least 1 1%, still more preferably at least 12% and most preferably at least 13% by dry weight. The amount of dietary fiber is preferably at most 40%, more preferably at most 30% and most preferably at most 25% by dry weight of the meat substitute.

Preferably the weight ratio of protein to beta-glucan in the meat substitute according to the present invention is at most 20: 1 , more preferably at most 15:1 and most preferably at most 10: 1. The weight ratio of protein to dietary fiber in the meat substitute is preferably at most 6.0:1 , more preferably 5.0:1 and most preferably 4.0:1. Plant based meat substitute products providing substantial levels of dietary fiber and beta-glucan into the diet when simultaneously acting as a main protein component in the food are currently rare or non-existing. The plant based meat substitute according to the present invention possess the both before mentioned nutritional benefits, and when regularly consumed it can substantially increase the dietary fiber and beta-glucan intake in the consumers’ diets and make it easier for the consumers to meet the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber. As shown in the Examples the meat substitutes according to the invention easily provides the recommended daily intake of beta-glucan in one serving.

The plant based meat substitute according to the present invention contains water in an amount of 30-55%, preferably 35-53% and most preferably 40-50% by weight. This optimal water content in the plant based meat substitute results in a similar appearance, texture and mouthfeel as compared with e.g. pan-fried and mildly browned minced meat commonly used in several food recipes. The water content is measured by normal dry matter laboratory analyses of the plant based meat substitute product and reflects the overall water retained in the product. Thus the water content includes the water retained in the plant based meat substitute product derived from the water contained in the solid ingredients, such as flours, as well as the water added.

The plant based meat substitute according to the present invention is obtainable by a process including a low temperature extrusion step. Preferably the process includes a low temperature extrusion step and a heat treatment step. Most preferably the process includes a low

temperature extrusion step, at least one drying step, a wetting step and a heat treatment step. These steps are disclosed in more detail in the method of manufacturing the plant based meat substitute.

It was surprisingly found that a plant based meat substitute produced from a meat substitute intermediate product manufactured with a low temperature extrusion process showed beneficial quality properties as compared to corresponding meat substitute produced from meat substitute intermediates produced with a high temperature extrusion process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plant based meat substitute intermediate product containing oat material, plant protein material and water. This intermediate product contains the same ingredients (oat material, plant protein material and optional additional components) as the final plant based meat substitute by dry weight. Thus, only the water content differs.

The plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to the present invention has a long shelf life also at ambient storage temperatures. The plant based meat substitute intermediate product provides flexibility in the logistic chain and demand control. The plant based meat substitute intermediate product is also more cost efficient to transport to multiple production sites e.g. in different markets/countries compared to transporting the plant based meat substitute product containing more water.

By the term“plant based meat substitute intermediate product” is herein meant an intermediate product in the process of manufacturing the plant based meat substitute.

Thus, the plant based meat substitute intermediate product contains 50-85% by dry weight oat material. The meat substitute intermediate product has a protein content of 25-55% by dry weight. It has a dietary fiber content of at least 5.0% by dry weight and a beta-g!ucan content of at least 2.5% by dry weight Further the meat substitute intermediate product contains 8.5-15% and preferably 9.0-14% water by weight.

This intermediate product is suitable for manufacturing a meat substitute, preferably a minced meat substitute.

The plant based meat substitute intermediate product has preferably any one of the features described earlier related to the dry matter of the plant based meat substitute (i.e. the compositions given as % by dry weight). The plant based meat substitute intermediate product has preferably any one of the features described earlier related to the selection and amounts of components in the plant based meat substitute (i.e. components and their amounts). These features are also disclosed in claims 3-22 and 24-25).

Preferably the plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to the invention is obtainable by a process including a low temperature extrusion step and at least one drying step. These steps are disclosed in more detail in the disclosure of the methods of manufacturing the plant based meat substitute and the meat substitute intermediate product in the following.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute by extruding a mixture containing plant protein material and oat material, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: a) preparing a mixture of the plant protein material and the oat material and water, preferably the water content of the mixture being 35-55%, more preferably 38- 53% and most preferably 40-50% by weight of the mixture, b) optionally adding a crosslinking enzyme and/or a protein deamidating enzyme to the mixture, to any of the components or their blends or to the water, preferably production sites e.g. in different markets/countries compared to transporting the plant based meat substitute product containing more water.

By the term“plant based meat substitute intermediate product” is herein meant an intermediate product in the process of manufacturing the plant based meat substitute.

Thus, the plant based meat substitute intermediate product contains 50-85% by dry weight oat material. The meat substitute intermediate product has a protein content of 25-55% by dry weight. It has a dietary fiber content of at least 5.0 g by dry weight and a beta-glucan content of at least 2.5% by dry weight Further the meat substitute intermediate product contains 8.5-15% and preferably 9.0-14% water by weight.

This intermediate product is suitable for manufacturing a meat substitute, preferably a minced meat substitute.

The plant based meat substitute intermediate product has preferably any one of the features described earlier related to the dry matter of the plant based meat substitute (i.e. the

compositions given as % by dry weight). The plant based meat substitute intermediate product has preferably any one of the features described earlier related to the selection and amounts of components in the plant based meat substitute (i.e. components and their amounts). These features are also disclosed in claims 3-22 and 24-25).

Preferably the plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to the invention is obtainable by a process including a low temperature extrusion step and at least one drying step. These steps are disclosed in more detail in the disclosure of the methods of manufacturing the plant based meat substitute and the meat substitute intermediate product in the following.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute by extruding a mixture containing plant protein material and oat material, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: a) preparing a mixture of the plant protein material and the oat material and water, preferably the water content of the mixture being 35-55%, more preferably 38- 53% and most preferably 40-50% by weight of the mixture, b) optionally adding a crosslinking enzyme and/or a protein deamidating enzyme to the mixture, to any of the components or their blends or to the water, preferably the crosslinking enzyme being transglutaminase and/or the protein deamidating enzyme being protein glutaminase,

c) optionally adding at least one additional component to the mixture, to any of the components or their blends or to the water, preferably a serum cholesterol lowering agent other than beta-glucan, more preferably the cholesterol lowering agent being plant stanol and/or plant sterol or their esters,

d) passing the mixture at a temperature of 25-55 °C, more preferably at 30-50 °C through an extruder where it is forced through a die and cut to particles, e) optionally drying the particles to a water content below 16%, preferably below 14% by weight,

f) optionally wetting the dried particles to a water content of at least 28%, preferably at least 35% and most preferably 40-50% by weight,

g) heat treating the particles in a chamber at elevated temperature and pressure and

h) cooling the heat treated particles to storage temperature to produce the meat substitute.

Preferably the method includes step b). Thus a crosslinking enzyme and/or a protein

deamidating enzyme is added.

Preferably the method includes drying step e). In the method the drying step e) preferably comprises several steps with varying air temperatures and relative humidities preferably being within the ranges 80-120 °C and 5-90%.

Preferably the method includes the wetting step f) and more preferably the wetting step f) proceeds at least partly simultaneously with the heat treating step g).

Step f) of the method preferably comprises adding water to the particles and allowing them to soak under gentle agitation.

Preferably step c) of adding at least one additional component is performed before step g), more preferably before step d). Alternatively step c) is performed before step g), more preferably during step f).

By“additional component” is herein meant e.g. spices, salts, vitamins, minerals and health improving agents such as an additional cardiovascular health improving agent other than oat beta-glucan. In the method the heat treating step g) preferably comprises

- packing the particles in an airtight enclosure, preferably in hot-sealed plastic bags and

- keeping the bags for at least 1 hour in a chamber at elevated pressure and

temperature of at least 100 °C.

The method can be used for producing the plant based meat substitute according to any one of claims 1-26.

General disclosure of the manufacturing processes

The plant based meat substitute intermediate product and the plant based meat substitute are manufactured from a mixture containing a plant protein material and oat material in a method comprising several steps.

The first step is preparing a mixture by combining water with a plant protein material and an oat material. Preferably the plant protein material is at least one selected from legume, tuber, cereal and seed protein, and the oat material is at least one selected from whole grain oat flour, oat bran, oat bran flour, oat groats, steel-cut oats, oat flakes, oat endosperm, oat endosperm flour, a dietary fiber enriched oat fraction and a beta-glucan enriched oat fraction.

Optionally, additional components can be added at this stage, e.g. crosslinking enzyme(s), spices, vitamins, minerals and health improving agents such as an additional cardiovascular health improving agent. Preferably, the crosslinking enzyme is transglutaminase. The additional cardiovascular health improving agent can be plant sterols and/or plant stanols added in an amount to deliver e.g. at least 1.5 g plant sterols and/or stanols in the daily consumed amount of the plant based meat substitute. The plant sterols and/or plant stanols are preferably used in their fatty acid ester forms.

The protein material, the oat material and the optional additional component(s) can be added separately to the water or the dry ingredients can be mixed together before blending with water to form the mixture.

The mixture can contain water in an amount of 35-55%, preferably 38-53% and more preferably 40-50% by weight of the mixture. The mixture is blended thoroughly and fed to an extruder comprising a barrel, at least one screw and at least one nozzle. Preferably it can be a twin-screw extruder. It is also possible to divide the slurry feed to several extruders operating in parallel. The rotating screw conveys the slurry through the barrel and presses it to a homogenous material. At the end of the extruder the slurry is pressed through at least one nozzle to form at least one string of extrudate and the at least one string of extrudate is cut into particles. The width of the particles can be below 6 mm and preferably below 4 mm, such as about 3 mm. The length of the particles can be below 10 mm, preferably below 7 mm, such as about 5 mm.

Preferably, no heating or very mild heating is applied during the extrusion, i.e. it is performed as a low temperature extrusion. The temperature of the mixture is 25-60 °C, preferably 30-50 °C during the extrusion step. It may even be necessary to provide light cooling.

The following process step is drying the particles to a water content of at most 16%, preferably below 14% and most preferably below 12%.The drying can take place as a multistep process where the particles meet varying air temperatures and relative humidities, e g. 80-115°C and 5- 90%.

The dried particles i.e. the plant based meat substitute intermediate product can be stored several months without deterioration of the quality before the next process step.

Thus the production of the final meat substitute from the intermediate product can be executed several months after the production of the intermediate meat substitute product. It can obviously also be executed immediately after the production of the intermediate product. In the production of the final plant based meat substitute the intermediate product particles are mixed with water and allowed to soak for a sufficient time such as 30 min to 3 h, preferably about 2 h. The water content of the soaked particles can be at least 30.0%, preferably at least 35.0% and most preferably 35.0-50.0% by weight. The water absorption properties of the dried particles are such that they can absorb the added water during the soaking step.

In the next step the wetted particles can be heat treated in a chamber at elevated temperature and pressure. The wetted particles can be packed in an airtight enclosure, preferably in hot- sealed plastic bags fulfilling the quality requirements for such heat treatment. Thereafter the bags can be placed for at least 1 hour in a chamber with elevated pressure and temperature of at least 100°C. The final step of the method can include cooling the heat treated particles to storage temperature (ambient) to obtain the plant based meat substitute product.

A fourth object of the invention is the manufacturing process of the plant based meat substitute intermediate product. Thus, the invention is also directed to a method for manufacturing a plant based meat substitute intermediate product by extruding a mixture containing plant protein material and oat material utilising at least the following steps:

A) preparing a mixture of the plant protein material and the oat material and water,

preferably the water content of the mixture being 35-55%, more preferably 38-53% and most preferably 40-50% by weight of the mixture,

B) optionally adding a crosslinking enzyme and/or a deamidating enzyme to the mixture, to any of the components or their blends or to the water, preferably the crosslinking enzyme being transglutaminase and/or the protein deamidating enzyme being protein glutaminase,

C) optionally adding at least one additional component to the mixture, to any of the

components or their blends or to the water, preferably a serum cholesterol lowering agent other than beta-glucan, more preferably the cholesterol lowering agent being plant stanol and/or plant sterol or their esters,

D) passing the mixture at a temperature 25-55 °C, preferably 30-50 °C through an extruder where it is forced through a die and cut to particles,

E) drying the particles to a water content below 16%, preferably below 14% by weight to obtain the plant based meat substitute intermediate product.

Preferably the method includes step B). The drying step E) preferably includes several phases with varying air temperatures and relative humidities, preferably within the ranges 80-120 °C and 5-90%.

Preferably step C) of adding at least one additional component is performed before step D). By “additional component” is herein meant spices, salts, vitamins, minerals and health improving agents such as an additional cardiovascular health improving agent other than oat beta-glucan.

The method can be used for producing the plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to any one of claims 27-30.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new type of process for producing a plant based meat substitute and the intermediate product thereof. Thus the invention is also directed to the use of a low temperature extrusion process in the manufacturing process of a plant based meat substitute or an intermediate product thereof. Preferably the invention is directed to the use of a low temperature extrusion process in the manufacturing process of a plant based minced meat substitute or an intermediate product thereof. Preferably the low temperature extrusion is performed at 25-55 °C, preferably at 30-50 °C. Preferably the low temperature extrusion is performed by adding 35-55%, more preferably 38-53% and most preferably 40-50% water by weight of the mixture to be extruded.

This use of a low temperature extrusion process can be utilised for producing the plant based meat substitute and/or plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to the invention (claims 1 -30).

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new type of process for producing a plant based meat substitute and the intermediate product thereof. Thus the invention is also directed to the use of a low temperature extrusion process and a drying process in the manufacturing of a plant based meat substitute or an intermediate product thereof. Preferably the invention is directed to the use of a low temperature extrusion process and a drying process in the manufacturing of a plant based minced meat substitute or an intermediate product thereof. Preferably the low temperature extrusion is performed at 25-55 °C, more preferably at 30-50“C. Preferably the drying process includes drying the intermediate product to a water content below 16%, more preferably below 14% by weight. Preferably the drying includes several steps with varying air temperature and relative humidity, preferably within the ranges 80-120 °C and 5- 90%.

This use of a low temperature extrusion process can be utilised for producing the plant based meat substitute and/or plant based meat substitute intermediate product according to the invention (claims 1-30).

In this description the amounts given in percentages mean percentage by weight (wt-%) unless otherwise stated. Both comprising and containing mean“containing at least” in this context.

EXAMPLES

The invention is illustrated by the following examples without restricting to them. EXAMPLE 1

Manufacturing of plant based meat substitutes with high content of oat material

Plant based meat substitute products were prepared by using the recipes shown in table 1. The aim was to prepare plant based meat substitute containing at least 50 % by dry weight oat material. As a reference, also a plant based meat substitute containing a lower amount (30 % of dry weight) oat material was prepared (Recipe 1 ).

The oat materials used were a flour milled from wholegrain oat flakes (protein content 14%, water content 10%) (=oat material 1 ) and oat bran separated from oat grains (protein content 18%, water content 10% (=oat material 2). The plant protein material used were a potato protein isolate (protein content 81 %, water content 10%) (=plant protein material 1) and a pea protein isolate (protein content 79%, water content 10%) (=plant protein material 2).

Table 1. Recipes of the test samples.

Oat material, plant protein material, salt (table salt) and an enzyme (transglutaminase ACTIVA® WM, Ajinomoto) were weighed according to the recipes in Table 1 , in amounts to obtain 2 kg dry weight of each recipe. The ingredients were blended and the ingredient blend was divided into two equal parts by weight (1 kg).

Plant based meat substitute intermediate products were produced with low temperature extrusion in the following manner. The ingredient blend was thoroughly mixed with 40 °C water for 10 minutes to bring the water content of the mixture to 46 %. The mixture was conveyed through a single-screw laboratory extruder (MX-20, Sandore s.n.c., Italy) at a temperature in the range of 35-40 °C. At the end of the extruder the mixture was pressed through a die to form a extrudate of 3 m diameter. The extrudate was cut to string shape particles of 5-10 mm length upon exiting the die. Thereafter the particles were dried to a water content appr. 10 %, first with hot air in a steam oven for 1 hour and then in ambient temperature in a drying cabin (ES 60, Sandore s.n.c., Italy). These samples are named with prefix LTI. For comparison, intermediate product samples with the same recipes (Table 1 ) were produced with high temperature extrusion. The feeding rate of the ingredient blend was adjusted to 45 rpm while water feeding rate was optimized for each sample (1.8-2.6 l/h) in order to obtain similar surface structure as compared to the LTI samples (smooth and intact with minimum level of floury and porous surface area). The mixture was conveyed through a twin-screw laboratory scale extruder (Clextral BC21 , France) at a temperature of about 105 °C. At the end of the extruder the mixture was pressed through a nozzle to form a extrudate of 3 mm diameter. The extrudate was cut to string shape particles of 5-10 mm in length upon exiting the nozzle.

Thereafter, the particles were dried to a water content of appr. 10 % with hot air in an oven for 1 h and then in ambient temperature in a drying cabin (ES 60, Sandore s.n.c., Italy). These samples were named with prefix HTI.

Plant based meat substitute products were produced from the intermediate products LTI and HTI as follows. Water (temperature 20 °C) was added to the intermediate particles in a weight proportion of 40:60. This mixture was let to soak for an hour, then gently agitated and let to soak for another hour. Thereafter this mixture was packed in plastic bags which were heat sealed airtight. The plastic bags were heat treated for 2.5 hours in an autoclave operating at about 2 bar and 110 °C. Thereafter the bags were cooled rapidly to ambient temperature until being used in the experiments. The final products were marked with prefix LTF and HTF depending on which intermediate product, i.e. LTI or HTI, they origin from.

The water content of pan-fried and browned minced meat varies typically between 50-60%. Based on initial tests it was realized that to obtain a plant based meat substitute having a mouthfeel resembling pan-fried minced meat, the water content of the plant based meat substitute should be between 28-58 %. The most suitable water content of the plant based meat substitute was found to be 40-50% depending on the recipe. Too high water content causes the meat substitute to have a sticky surface after the heat treatment (autoclave). On the other hand lower amount of water leads to a hard and crispy texture upon pan-frying the plant based meat substitute in vegetable oil. The water content of the LTF and HTF samples was about 43 weight-%, consisting of the water originating from the intermediate products (LTI and HTI, respectively) and the water added in the preparation of the final products. The nutrient compositions of the final products are presented in the Table 3. Thus, a typical serving size of 100 g of the final product contained 1.5-3.8 g beta-glucan (Recipe 1 : 1.5 g and Recipe 5: 3.8 g). Table 3. Nutrient contents of the final products

The plant based meat substitutes obtained after the heat treatment process were evaluated by a small in-house sensory panel (n=4) for appearance, texture and taste. The panel evaluated all three properties from HTF and LTF samples made with Recipes 1-5 by using a rating 1-5 (1 =poor, not acceptable, 3= acceptable, 5=excellent quality). An overall quality rating was calculated for each sample as the mean value of all average ratings given for each property of that sample. The overall average results are presented in Table 4.

Textures of the HTF samples made with Recipes 2-5 were considered to be too expanded and having a too open structure and did therefore not meet quality requirements for a plant based minced meat substitute. The HTF sample made with Recipe 1 had more compact and firm particle texture than the HTF samples 2-5, but the HTF sample 1 had too intense dark brown colour, gritty and dry mouthfeel and bitter taste. HTF samples made with both Recipe 4 and 5 had unpleasant rubbery texture and too intense cereal-like taste for a plant based minced meat substitute.

LTF samples gained better ratings than corresponding HTF samples for each sensory property, and also for the overall quality rating (Table 4). LTF samples made with Recipes 3 and 4 reached the highest overall quality ratings and were considered to have excellent properties for a plant based minced meat substitute. The texture of these two samples was considered to be close to that of pan-fried minced meat (at ambient temperature) and the taste was evaluated to be neutral and balanced having no disturbing too intense taste of neither plant proteins nor oat. LTF sample made with Recipe 5 was considered to contain more clustered particles (lumps), a bit sticky surface and more cereal-like taste than the LTF samples 1 -4, but it was still rated acceptable. Based on the panel evaluation it was obvious that the low temperature extrusion combined with 50-85 % of oat material and a protein content of 13-44 % of dry weight in the recipe resulted in a plant based minced meat substitute with acceptable structural and organoleptic properties. Especially the extrusion at low temperature and an oat material content of 60-75 % and a protein content of 22-35% of dry weight in the recipe resulted in a plant based minced meat substitute with desired structural and organoleptic properties. Table 4. Results of the sensory evaluation of HTF and LTF samples.

EXAMPLE 2

Cooking test of the plant based meat substitutes

Plant based meat substitutes should be suitable for use in cooking, and preserve good sensory properties such as texture after cooking. To maintain good sensory properties of a plant based meat substitute after cooking, the water absorption-% in the cooking should be low. For example, when fried minced meat is used in cooking, it does not absorb much water. Typical water absorption-% for fried minced meat is bΐr below 10%, depending on the fat content of the meat. For plant based meat substitutes, somewhat higher water absorption-% in cooking is acceptable, as the initial water content of the plant based meat substitutes is lower than that of the minced meat. Ideally, the texture of the plant based meat substitute should remain essentially intact and not get too wet after cooking. Furthermore the plant based meat substitute used in cooking should retain a good mouthfeel.

To evaluate the cooking tolerance of the plant based meat substitute products obtained in the Example 1 , the LTF and HTF samples from Example 1 were cooked in boiling water, and the water absorption of the samples, as well as the amount of sediment formed during the cooking were determined. Cooking in boiling water imitates the use of the product e.g. in preparation of sauces and soups. 100 g of the sample was added to boiling water and stirred a couple of times with a spoon. The sample was boiled for 10 min. (measured from the addition of the sample) in a kettle without a lid. Right after the 10 min. boiling time, the water was sieved and preserved. The sample was let to drain for 3 minutes in the sieve and weighted thereafter (drained weight). The initial weight of the sample (100g) was subtracted from the drained weight, and the result was divided by the initial weight and multiplied by 100 to get the water absorption-% of the sample. The results of the cooking test are presented in Figure 1. To measure the amount of sediment formed during the boiling, i.e. to evaluate the disintegration rate of the sample during cooking, a 100ml measuring glass was filled with the preserved well mixed boiling water to the 100 ml mark. After 14 hours the amount of the sediment on the bottom of the measuring glass was registered to indicate the level of detrimental disintegration of the sample. With all recipes, the amount of sediment was higher in the HTF samples compared to the corresponding LTF samples, e.g. recipe 4 showed a sediment level of 24 ml for HTF and 16 ml for the LTF sample.

As can be seen in Figure 1 the water absorption of the samples made with Recipe 1 was almost on the same level for both LTF and HTF samples, i.e. the extrusion method did not affect the water absorption-% of these samples. With the low amount of oat material (whole grain oat flour and oat bran) (30% of dry weight) and a relatively high amount of plant protein material used in the recipe 1 , the water absorption of HTF samples remained on acceptable levels. However, when the share of oat material in the recipe was at least 50 % of the dry weight, the water absorption% of HTF samples increased substantially. The high water absorption-% of HTF samples led to a partial disintegration and deformation of the HTF particles, leading to a mushy and sticky porridge-like structure without any distinct particles. An example of the difference in the appearance and in the structure of the test samples after cooking can be seen from the photographs in Figure 2. It is obvious that the plant based meat substitutes with at least 50% of dry weight oat material manufactured with high temperature extrusion (HTF samples) have unacceptably high water absorption-% in the cooking test, and do not fulfill the product quality requirements consumers will demand from plant based meat substitute products when used in typical home cooking processes.

Surprisingly the water absorption-% of plant based meat substitutes produced with low temperature extrusion process (LTF samples) did not show a similar correlation with the portion of the oat material in the recipe. The water absorption-% increased only slightly in LTF plant based meat substitutes products when the portion of total oat material was 50% or more of dry weight of the recipe. Moreover, the water absorption remained on the same moderate level for LTF plant based meat substitutes even when the oat material content increased as high as 85 % of the dry weight of the recipe (Figure 1). From the photographs in Figure 2 it can be seen that the structure of the LTF particles remained intact and the appearance was comparable to pan-fried and browned minced meat even when the plant based meat substitute contained as much as 85% of dry weight oat material. EXAMPLE 3

Water absorption test of plant based meat substitute intermediate products

In order to achieve the desired water content of the plant based meat substitute, the

intermediate product should have a suitable water absorption capacity.

Water absorption (%) of the LTI and HTI samples from Example 1 were determined as follows. 20 g sample was added to 200 ml of 20 °C water in a glass beaker and mixed cautiously. The beaker was stirred every second minute during the next 30 minutes. The sample was poured to a sieve and let to drain for 30 seconds. The sieve was shaken lightly for 1-2 seconds. The drained sample was weighted, and the weight of the initial sample was subtracted from the weight of the drained sample to obtain the amount of water. The amount of water was divided by the initial weight (i.e. about 20 g) and multiplied by 100, to get the water absorption-%. The results are presented in Figure 3.

The water absorption-% of the high temperature extruded intermediate (HTI) samples started to increase rapidly when the amount of oat material was 50 % of the dry weight or more.

Surprisingly, the water absorption of the low temperature extruded intermediate (LTI) samples remained practically unchanged despite the increase in the amount of oat material in the recipe.

The water absorption of the intermediate product becomes important especially when setting up the industrial scale soaking, packaging and autoclave cooking processes. The water absorption level of 70-80 % from the weight of the intermediate product obtained by low temperature extrusion process is optimal when the aim is to achieve the most desired water content of 40-50 % in the final product. With optimal water absorption level the soaking process is easy to control and the water is evenly distributed throughout the intermediate product. If the water absorption of the intermediate product is excessive with respect to desired water content in the final product, it can result in uneven water distribution and the particles may become soft and get easily disintegrated during the soaking and packaging process steps. In this situation a functioning industrial scale soaking and packaging process delivering constant product quality would be almost impossible to set up.

EXAMPLE 4

Plant based meat substitute intermediate and final products were prepared by low temperature extrusion as described in the example 1 and by using the recipes shown in table 4. The recipes contained 68% of dry weight oat material and 31% of dry weight plant protein material and 1 % of dry weight salt. The oat material and the plant protein material used were the same as in the Example 1. The proportion of tuber (potato) and legume (pea) protein varied between the recipes. The intermediate products were named with prefix LTI and the final products with prefix LTF.

Table 4. Recipes of the test samples.

For the plant based meat substitute intermediate products, a water absorption (%) test was done as described in the Example 3 with the exception that the soaking time was 10 minutes instead of 30 minutes. For the plant based meat substitute products, a cooking test was done as described in the Example 2. The results of both tests are presented in Table 5.

Table 5.

The water absorption level of about 70-80 % from the weight of the intermediate product would be optimal when the aim is to achieve the most desired water content of 40-50 % in the final product. All intermediate products yielded acceptable water absorption (%). However, the most optimal water absorption level was obtained with the recipes 2 and 3 containing 20% and 25% of dry weight tuber protein.

In the cooking test, the final products containing 20% or 25% of dry weight tuber protein resulted in lower water absorption (%) compared to the final product containing 25% of dry weight legume protein, which is beneficial for the plant based meat substitute.