As the global market for prepared foods expands rapidly, the demand for meat-free alternatives is on the rise.
Driven by health consciousness, ethical considerations, and environmental sustainability, consumers are increasingly seeking plant-based versions of their favourite prepared foods.
In response to the demand, processors are faced with the challenge of creating high-quality meat alternative products that will replicate the taste, texture, and overall experience of their traditional prepared foods lines.
Meat your standards for meat and plant-based foods
When you’re in the process of selecting equipment for your meat and plant-based products, there are numerous factors to consider. With Heat and Control’s extensive experience in developing food processing lines, it’s here to assist you in creating all the trending products your consumers love. Beyond perfecting your recipe, Heat and Control are also committed to helping you achieve higher yields, better efficiency, and more safety than ever before.
Challenge #1 – Replicating the sensory experience
A key challenge in producing meat alternative prepared foods lies in replicating the sensory experience of meat. Achieving the juicy tenderness and crispy exterior your consumers crave is pivotal for the success of your meat alternative products.
Essential for the success of your meat alternative products — coatings are your secret weapon in enhancing the taste and texture of prepared foods, whether they’re meat-based or plant-based proteins.
What’s more, the same equipment used to apply coatings to traditional beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and fish based prepared foods can also be utilised to coat meat alternative prepared foods.
Challenge #2 – Mouth feel and flavour
From creating a crispy exterior reminiscent of fried chicken to achieving a juicy texture in your meat alternative ‘burger’ — coatings help replicate the mouthfeel and flavor of meat to make plant-based alternatives more appealing to consumers. Image 2.
Challenge #3 – Visual Appeal
Many processors utilise coatings to enhance the visual appeal of their prepared foods lines, whether achieving a golden-brown crust or a glossy glaze. While enhancing attractiveness, coatings also serve practical purposes. They can act as a barrier to moisture loss during cooking or storage, ensuring product freshness and quality over time. Ultimately, the success of prepared foods hinges on the quality and consistency of their visual appeal and final presentation.
To ensure success, it’s crucial to employ the right equipment and processes for meat alternative products. An adaptable coating system solution that caters to both traditional meat and meat alternative protein-based foods is essential for achieving optimal results and meeting consumer expectations.
Understanding the Coating Process
The coating process can be executed in single or multiple stages. An example of a multi-stage coating system is the two-stage method, where a liquid ingredient, such as oil, is first applied as a tack agent, followed by a dry seasoning application.
Chicken nuggets and plant-based alternatives, often made using mycoprotein, soy protein, pea protein, wheat protein, and then flavored with oil and garlic powder are examples of products utilising a two-stage coating system. (Image 1).
Other coating system solutions utilise a slurry spray system, which applies a mixture of oil or water and dry seasonings. This method is chosen when a processor is aiming to impart a complex flavour profile, and particularly when the seasoning and oil need to penetrate the product. Marinated chicken or marinated tofu ‘chicken’ products utilise this type of coating system.
Alternatively, there is another seasoning application known as ‘dry seasoning only’ which requires no liquid application. This method is used when your product has either sufficient surface moisture or can retain residual surface moisture to hold the seasoning, for example herb seasoning.
Coating Drum
The function of the coating drum is to gently lift and fold the product repeatedly to allow each product piece exposure to gradually build-up liquid and dry coatings. A key component of a successful coating system is a properly engineered coating drum. Image 3. Product throughput, bulk density, shape, and other characteristics all factor into the drum’s length, diameter, and design.
Liquid Coating Application
Coating system design principles remain the same regardless of the spray system utilised. By utilising an effective spray design with multi-nozzle manifolds, you maximise the coating zone within the drum. This, coupled with precise nozzle placement, directs targeted sprays onto the product moving beneath the spray nozzles within the drum. This approach facilitates a gradual accumulation of applied liquid onto the base product, ensuring a more uniform coating overall.
A variety of spray system options from “airless” pulsing oil spray applicators to air-assist or high-volume oil spray systems are available, as well as slurry spray systems for applying emulsions, solutions, liquid-solid slurries, or other high-viscosity liquids.
Dry Ingredient Application
In a continuous coating system, applying dry seasoning to products requires both an auger-based powder feeder and a scarf plate distributor. For instance, a powder feeder meters the dry seasoning or salt at a consistent and accurate rate onto a scarf plate feeder, which then evenly distributes it onto the product.
The scarf plate distributor is a fixed-speed, vibratory conveyor featuring a narrow, mirrored finish, bias-cut tray. It’s user-friendly, easy to clean, and compatible with most dry seasonings, salts, and other granular products, ensuring a consistent curtain of the applied dry product.
Positioned within the coating drum, the scarf plate distributor gradually applies seasoning to the product as it moves through the drum. The seasoning curtain expands the coating zone, resulting in a consistently and evenly coated prepared foods product.
Delicate products
If your base product is delicate, an over belt seasoning system will maintain the integrity and visual appeal of your products.
Ready to make a move?
Elevating your recipe or expanding your prepared foods lineup can be challenging. Heat and Control offer testing and trials on a variety of equipment, and it is committed to helping you bring your best products to market. Let’s meat your standards for both traditional and plant-based foods —reach out today!
info@heatandcontrol.com or www.heatandcontrol.com