New Food – New Process Technology

The production of New Food products sets completely new requirements for process engineering and technology. Some processes and technologies of ystral have been proven to be particularly advantageous and future-oriented. The most important ingredients are alternative proteins, most of them plant-based. These proteins have an enormous spectrum of properties. Wheat protein, for example, is extremely cohesive, while soy protein is extremely adhesive. When mixed into liquids, they either flocculate completely or stick to the components of the system. In traditional processing methods, this always led to local overheating, denaturing, discoloring or even burning on rotating parts. Agglomerates were always produced. These subsequently had to be broken down again by dispersion. However, proteins become very shear sensitive immediately after hydration. Dispersing the agglomerates damaged the quaternary and tertiary structure of the already hydrated protein, and degraded viscosity and texture in an uncontrolled manner. The problem is solved by a process in which the primary protein particles are separated by vacuum expansion before they enter the liquid, are completely wetted on first contact with the liquid, are dispersed in situ under vacuum, and are subsequently hydrated without agglomerates under pressure. The whole process takes 2 to 3 hundredths of a second, with minimal heat input. The powder is immediately completely disintegrated. No agglomerates are formed. The texture is not damaged or destroyed. The process time is shortened tremendously. Higher protein exploitation rates are also possible in the disintegration of proteins directly from seed flours, as well as in protein hydrolysis, due to the much more intensive dispersion. Simultaneously, only lower enzyme quantities are required for this purpose. The same process is also used for the dispersion of emulsifying starches, which are used as egg substitutes in mayonnaises and dressings or, more generally, instead of emulsifiers in emulsions. This technology also offers enormous advantages in the production of whipped cream, cooking cream or ice cream based on vegetable fats. Mechanical processing technology has an enormous influence on taste, consistency, mouthfeel and ultimately also on the visual impression of food. Especially in the New Food sector, you don't want any disadvantages compared to traditional foods.