Vegan chicken breast strips made from wheat texture enhance chilled, on-the-go products
Loryma, expert in wheat-based ingredients, introduces vegan chicken breast, a new option for trendy, ready-to-eat applications from the refrigerated aisle. These vegetable fillet strips, made from structured wheat protein, promise authentic taste and mouthfeel, as well as an appealing appearance and texture, and ease of processing.
Consumer demand for ready-to-eat chilled snacks and fresh meals is growing steadily. Whether eaten cold or heated, products such as bowls, salads and wraps are often enhanced with meat-based toppings, for example, grilled fillet strips. However, to serve the growing market for plant-based product alternatives, ingredients manufacturer Loryma has introduced a vegetable chicken breast solution.
Functional wheat-based raw materials allow for the creation of meat alternatives that are convincing in terms of sensory perception and taste, and suitable for a wide range of applications thanks to simple production processes. Thus, the vegan meat alternative, just like a real pre-cooked chicken breast, can be enjoyed both cold or hot without loss of quality. Whether as a salad topping, a filling or eaten hot from the pan or oven, the vegetable fillets demonstrate optimal interaction of functional binding and structured wheat protein.
The processing of a vegan chicken breast does not differ much from the meat version. First, dry Lory® Tex Chunks are soaked in water and individually seasoned, with the textured wheat protein perfectly replicating authentic meat structure. The rehydrated chunks are then shredded and mixed with both vegetable oil and the wheat-based binding agent Lory® Bind to form a homogenous mass in an "all-in" process. This mass can then be individually processed, just like the meat variant, and is usually filled into sterile casings. It is then cooked before being removed from the casing and pre-portioned. The fillet can be grilled or deep-fried as strips, nuggets, slices or cubes, and the finished product used in the same way as real cooked chicken breast.