Plant-Based
Novel approaches to develop alternative fats for plant-based food applications
Alternative fat is a key building block of plant-based meat, contributing towards the juiciness, tenderness, and mouthfeel of products. Modifying molecular structures of plant-based oils to create solid fats and structuring them in combination with proteins, phospholipids, or carbohydrates are potential approaches to achieve functional parity with animal-derived fats.
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Plant-Based
- Raw materials, ingredients, and inputs
- Ingredient optimization
For more information, please see the following resources:
- Fat and moisture encapsulation for alternative protein products
- Producing animal fats through fermentation
- Fat production and encapsulation within oleaginous yeast
Previous GFI-funded research related to this topic:
Current challenges
The eating quality of meat (aroma, juiciness, tenderness, and mouthfeel) is enhanced by its constituent lipidic or fat substances. Plant-derived fats that are capable of mimicking their animal-derived counterparts are essential for plant-based meats to compete with the taste of conventional meats. Apart from fulfilling sensory expectations, plant-based fats should also be sustainable, scalable, and affordable. According to GFI’s report, sustainable alternative fat innovation is critical for the success of the plant-based meat industry. Currently, the industry depends on coconut oil as the primary fat in products owing to its semi-solid physical state around ambient temperature, which gives it a competitive edge over other plant oils to substitute solid animal fat. GFI’s report projects that the plant-based meat industry will require at least 16% of the global supply of coconut oil by 2030, if it grows at the rate estimated by various market analysts. Due to the increasing demand for coconut oil from other sectors and its volatile sourcing, a significant dependence on its supply could be a major bottleneck in plant-based meat manufacturing.
Apart from supply chain challenges, there are also technological limitations associated with coconut oil. A perfect alternative to animal-derived fat would be completely solid at room temperature and would slowly melt upon cooking. Though coconut oil is more solid than plant oils, it melts almost instantaneously upon heating. Also, coconut oil cannot serve as an alternative for other types of desirable animal-sourced lipids. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids that are predominantly present in marine fish contribute to seafood flavouring and health appeal. However, fats with such functional benefits are not available in high quantities in coconut fat.
Proposed solutions
An ideal plant-based alternative to animal fats should cater to a multitude of expectations around flavour, texture, cookability (e.g., high melting point and minimal leakage), structure, affordability, commercial viability, nutritional benefits (e.g., including omega-3 fatty acids), food grade quality and shelf stability (e.g., resistance to oxidation/rancidity). Further, structural similarity, taste and texture parity with animal fats are important. Although native plant lipids do not exhibit the functionalities of animal fats, their molecular structures can be modified to create solid fats that are more similar to their animal counterparts. Alternatively, native plant lipids can be combined with other ingredients—like proteins, phospholipids, or carbohydrates—to form emulsion- or gel-based fat alternatives. For instance, ‘oleogelation’ is an oil structuring technique that uses oleogelators, which are molecules capable of self-assembling into crystalline fibres to encapsulate oil. Proteins, polysaccharides, and small molecules like phytosterols, waxes and other lipids are well-known examples of food-grade oleogelators, which can entrap oils without modifying their chemical traits. Consequently, the nutritional value of oil is retained and oil leakage during cooking is reduced.
Successful proposals can focus on the following aspects:
- Elucidation of the molecular structures of saturated vs. unsaturated fats that govern their key functional properties. As plant-based fats are expected to melt similarly as animal fats, lipid properties such as longer chain lengths are relevant
- Colloidal structuring technology: Encapsulation, microgelation and emulsion templated liquid structuring technologies such as oleogelation as approaches to developing structured alternative fat to offer succulence and juicy mouthfeel in plant-based foods
- ‘Extrudable fat or marbling technology’ that focuses on simulating animal fat and enables a more authentic fat texture
- Fortification of plant-based fats with essential fatty acids such as omega-3 fatty acids derived from algae
- Plant protein-based fat replacers as ingredients in plant-based meat products
- Development of plant-based fats with enhanced flavour, improved total fats and saturated fats and improved caloric content