Crespel & Deiters offers innovative wheat-based ingredients for outstanding meat-alternatives and bakery products
© Crespel & Deiters
The fourth Thursday in November is undoubtedly a food-focused occasion in the US, with friends and families marking Thanksgiving with an indulgent feast. But these days, far fewer turkeys are trembling at the prospect thanks to an increasing number of people choosing to celebrate with mouth-watering, meat-free alternatives.
In fact, the United States is one of the most developed markets for vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes, with its consumption far ahead of the global average. So how best can food manufacturers help make one of the nation’s most widely celebrated holidays magnificently meat-free? With wheat texturates from Crespel & Deiters, that’s how.
Traditional favourites transformed
Take wheat protein Lory® Tex, for example, which when combined with wheat-based binders (Lory® Bind) and stabilizers (Lory® Stab) helps perfectly replicate the sensory characteristics of bacon, ham, chicken and even that traditional Thanksgiving favorite, turkey.
When it comes to meat-free bacon, the anticipated mouthfeel is easily achieved with Lory® Bind, while a matching spice blend guarantees authentic taste. This plant-based concept not only perfectly replicates the sensory characteristics of its meaty counterpart, but also retains its structure during cooking to become enticingly fibrous and crispy.
Crespel & Deiters also offers a combination of wheat-based components for a plant-based version of chicken thighs which faithfully matches this classic dish in both appearance and texture. The crispy skin is achieved with a specially developed coating system, while Lory® Tex wheat texturates in conjunction with Lory® Bind imitate fibrous muscle meat. During frying, deep-frying or grilling, the outside becomes crispy, while the inside remains juicy and tender. What’s more, the dry texturate can be flavoured and separated to the desired fibre structure and, together with Lory® Bind, create a mass that can be formed into a chicken or turkey leg, before being coated and flavoured.
Better-for-you bakery treats
Manufacturers of bakery products, meanwhile, can benefit from a range of specially modified starches for optimal consistency and high functionality in goods such as muffins and cookies. Lory® Starch Elara, for example, is a resistant starch that can partially replace flour and increase the fiber content of bakery products, while simultaneously lowering carbohydrate and calorie content.
Also in the Crespel and Deiters portfolio is Lory® Protein and Lory® Tex Powder, both of which help boost the protein level of bakery products.
Using Lory® Starch Elara as a partial flour replacement in dry, crumbly pastries is a relatively easy task. However, to achieve a moist dough for muffins or yeast loaf, extruded wheat flour, pregelatinised wheat starch and wheat gluten can be added. Thanks to a special manufacturing process, extruded wheat flour Lory® Flour can bind eight times more water than the conventional alternative and is also cold-soluble, thus helping to maintain the moistness of dough.
Philipp Deiters, Global Head of Division Food Food Segment
"Our raw materials combine naturalness with maximum functionality, and offer manufacturers the opportunity to create healthy and sure-fire products that are guaranteed to excite and impress all those celebrating Thanksgiving – no matter what their dietary preferences," says Philipp Deiters, Global Head of Division Food Food Segment.
