Mycoprotein as chicken meat substitute in nugget formulation: Physicochemical and sensorial characterization

Abstract

The aim of this study was to replace chicken breast by mycoprotein in nuggets and optimizing the sensory and technological properties. In the first step of the study, 14 formulations were prepared by mixture design to evaluate the impact of three binding agents (as independent variables): soy protein isolate, phosphate, and carrageenan on sensory properties. Then, the optimized formulation of mycoprotein nugget (with higher acceptability) was characterized and compared to chicken nugget (control) from texture, color, and physicochemical aspects. The texture attributes including hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of the optimized sample (1.37 kg, 0.70 mm, 0.56, and 0.53 kg.mm) had no significant difference (p > .05) compared to control. Based on the results, optimized sample had a lower lightness and yellowness (a*, b*, and L* were 3.06, 18.62, and 59.23, respectively) rather than the similar value of the control (2.20, 21.27, and 79.10, respectively), which indicated carrageenan did not lead to any significant impact (p > .05) on the color. Also, mycoprotein nugget showed 33% lower cooking loss in comparison to control. Moisture, protein, lipid, and ash in optimized sample were 57.9 ± 1.9, 24.1 ± 1.0, 13.2 ± 1.2, and 2.1 ± 0.5, respectively. Investigation on physicochemical properties shows an acceptable characterization in optimized sample in comparison to control. The results of this study present an opportunity to produce nonmeat nuggets with similar texture and acceptable sensory and technological characteristics by using mycoprotein as meat alternative. The production of mycoprotein is eco‐friendly, not dependent on climate (flood and drought) and landscape limitation, which is an important aspect in meat alternatives in the near future.

Mycoprotein: production and nutritional aspects: a review

“…The harvested biomass is subjected to additional processing steps to enhance its textural and sensory attributes. 24 The resulting mycoprotein is then harnessed as a versatile ingredient in diverse food applications, effectively substituting conventional meat sources. This comprehensive process underscores the potential of submerged fermentation as a proficient route for mycoprotein production, albeit with considerations of energy demand due to the requisite liquid medium and agitation.…”

The Color-Developing Methods for Cultivated Meat and Meat Analogues: A Mini-Review

“…Beet root extract (0.2%, w/w) enhanced the color of a mushroom-based minced meat substitute, both fresh and cooked (Mazumder et al, 2023). Contrary to the need for colorants, Hashempour-Baltork et al (2023) reported that using mycoprotein increased the redness of chicken nuggets formulated with carrageenan. Moreover, it was suggested that white pepper can be used to modulate the lightness of the product.…”

“…Mycoprotein pastes are often described as light in color. Therefore, the addition of spices and colorants is important to simulate the heme color of conventional meat ( Hashempour-Baltork et al, 2023 ).…”

Engineering strategies for enhanced heterologous protein production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Fungal single-cell proteins can serve as a direct source for producing meat alternatives, and the recombinant proteins produced by fungi can be employed as technical additives in the production of meat substitutes [ 7 , 8 ]. For example, mycoprotein from Fusarium venenatum was used instead of chicken breast tissue to make chicken nuggets [ 9 ], the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae was employed for the production of hamburger patties [ 10 ], and S. cerevisiae -derived exogenous cytokines were used to promote the growth of porcine muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) for cultured meat production [ 7 ]. In summary, microbial proteins represent a dominant paradigm for future protein manufacture.…”