Matching textural properties of commercial meat and cheese products using zein as the viscoelastic agent and calcium hydroxide as the textural modifier in plant-based formulations

Plant-based proteins have the potential to replace animal proteins in food applications; however, they do not provide cohesive and viscoelastic properties to mimic such products. Matching textural properties is one of the biggest challenges in plant-based formulations. In this study, building upon our previous work, we developed a zein-pea protein-based formulation and adjusted the textural properties by varying the calcium hydroxide concentration to match the textural properties of commercial meat and cheese products. Weak frequency dependence and higher storage modulus compared to loss modulus suggested solid-like behavior in the dough-like blends, possessing a strong and elastic inner network that retained energy inside the structure rather than dissipating it. Imaging using scanning electron and confocal microscopies showed well-incorporated web-like networks of zein conferring the viscoelastic and cohesive structure. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that calcium hydroxide addition at various levels (1–7%) had no significant effect on the product's molecular and structural chemistry. A high amount of β-sheet structure was found in all formulations, resulting in good viscoelastic characteristics. Notably, textural properties (i.e., hardness, chewiness, gumminess) of the formulated ingredient blends could be matched to those of tested commercial products by changing the calcium hydroxide concentration (1%-tilapia fish, 3%-chicken nugget and mozzarella cheese, 5%-tuna fish and Colby cheese, 7%-burger patties). Practical outcomes are formulations of new plant-based analogues that match the textural properties of existing animal-based commercial products.