TWI890360B - Food composition and processed food including mycoprotein - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food composition and a processed food including mycoprotein. The food composition added with the mycoprotein can enhance the hardness and toughness of the processed food made by the food composition; and reduce the problem of cracking and peeling of the processed food, without affecting the overall taste of the processed food. Therefore, the mycoprotein can be applied as the food additive.

Description

Food compositions and processed foods containing mycoprotein

The present invention relates to a food composition and processed food containing fungal protein, and more particularly to a food composition containing fungal protein to reduce the flaking of the crust.

Traditional processed foods, such as pastry, are typically made by mixing flour, sugar, oil, and other additives, followed by rolling, cutting, and baking. During the production process, pastry is susceptible to external forces, such as pressure and temperature fluctuations, which can cause it to break and shatter, affecting the quality and taste of the processed food. In traditional pastry production, fragility and flaking are common problems that need to be overcome.

Conventional solutions primarily involve adjusting the ingredient formula and production process to address the brittleness and crumbing of the dough. For example, adjusting the ratio of flour to fat, or adding animal protein or emulsifiers, can increase the dough's firmness and toughness. Furthermore, the baking temperature and time can be adjusted to ensure even baking, thereby reducing the likelihood of cracking and breaking.

While traditional methods may improve the fragility and crumbing of pastry to a certain extent, some issues remain. For example, foods containing added animal protein are not suitable for vegetarians, and excessive additives may affect the taste and healthiness of the product. Furthermore, for some specialized pastry types, such as gluten-free or egg-free pastry, traditional methods may have limited effectiveness in improving the fragility and crumbing of pastry.

Therefore, it is urgent to develop a new technology to solve the above problems and effectively improve the brittleness and crumbing of the cookie crust.

Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a food composition containing mycoprotein, wherein mycoprotein is added to the food composition to enhance the toughness of the processed food and reduce the problem of crumbing of the processed food.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a processed food containing mycoprotein. By adding mycoprotein to a pastry crust, the processed food can be made harder, reducing the problem of fragility and crumbing, without affecting its overall taste.

According to the aforementioned aspects of the present invention, a food composition containing mycoprotein is provided, comprising a food mixture and mycoprotein. In this embodiment, the food mixture comprises flour, sugar, protein, and oil, and the mycoprotein is evenly distributed within the food mixture. The mycoprotein may comprise mycelia of Fusarium venenatum . Based on 100 weight percent of flour, the amount of mycoprotein used may range from greater than 0 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the aforementioned S. aureus can be purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and deposited with the strain number ATCC 20334.

In the above embodiment, based on the usage of the aforementioned flour as 100 weight percent, the usage of the fungal protein can be, for example, 5 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the usage of the flour is 100 weight percent, and the usage of the fungal protein can be, for example, 10 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the toughness of the food prepared from the food composition containing mycoprotein is increased by, for example, 30% to 80% compared to the toughness of the processed food prepared from the food composition not containing mycoprotein.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a processed food containing mycoprotein is provided, comprising a crust and mycoprotein. The crust comprises flour, and the mycoprotein is evenly distributed within the crust. The mycoprotein may comprise mycelia of S. aureus. Based on 100 weight percent of flour, the amount of mycoprotein used may range from greater than 0 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the aforementioned S. aureus strain can be purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and has the deposit number ATCC 20334.

In the above embodiment, based on the usage of the aforementioned flour as 100 weight percent, the usage of the fungal protein can be, for example, 5 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the usage of the flour is 100 weight percent, and the usage of the fungal protein can be, for example, 10 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

In the above embodiment, the hardness of the processed food containing mycoprotein is increased by, for example, 20% to 35% compared to the hardness of the processed food not containing mycoprotein.

Applications of the mycoprotein-containing food compositions and processed foods of the present invention include the addition of mycoprotein to food compositions, which can enhance the hardness and toughness of the resulting processed foods, reducing their fragility and crumbing, without affecting their overall taste. Therefore, mycoprotein can be used as a food additive.

It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

If the definition or use of a term in a reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term herein, the definition of that term herein shall apply and not the definition of that term in the reference. Secondly, unless the context otherwise requires, singular terms may include the plural and plural terms may include the singular.

As previously mentioned, the present invention provides a food composition and processed food containing mycoprotein. The addition of mycoprotein to the food composition enhances the hardness and toughness of the processed food, reducing the brittleness and crumbing of the processed food without affecting its overall taste.

In one embodiment, the "fungal protein" referred to herein is not particularly limited, and various applicable fungal species can be selected, such as mold (filamentous fungi), yeast, etc. In some embodiments, the filamentous fungus can be, for example, Fusarium venenatum .

The above-mentioned golden sickle spore fungus, also known as golden sickle fungus or golden sickle spore fungus, is a fungus widely found in the soil. Golden sickle spore fungus can provide a high content of protein and can be produced on a large scale through a fermentation step, so it is often used in the manufacture of food compositions. Generally speaking, there is no particular limitation on the strain of golden sickle spore fungus. Any strain that can be produced on a large scale through a fermentation step, is edible and non-pathogenic can be applied to the present invention. In some specific examples, the strain of golden sickle spore fungus may include but is not limited to the strain purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and deposited with the number ATCC 20334.

In some embodiments, mycelia of S. aureus can be prepared by a multi-step process, wherein the multi-step process may include but is not limited to a solid state culture step, a liquid state culture step, and a fermentation step, or any combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the solid-state culture step can be performed by culturing the first mycelium of S. aureus in a solid culture medium at a temperature of 15°C to 30°C for 3 to 5 days to obtain the second mycelium. The formula of the solid culture medium is described in detail below.

The second mycelium is then cultured in a first liquid culture medium at 15°C to 30°C, pH 5 to 8, and a shaking rate of 10 rpm to 100 rpm for 3 to 7 days to obtain a third mycelium. The formula of the first liquid culture medium is described in detail below.

The third mycelia are then fermented in a second liquid culture medium at 15°C to 30°C, pH 5 to 8, and agitation at 10 rpm to 100 rpm for 3 to 7 days to obtain a fermentate. The fermentate is then subjected to a solid-liquid separation step to obtain mycelia. The formula of the second liquid culture medium is described in detail below.

The temperature and time of the aforementioned fermentation step can be the same as those of the liquid culture step, but the production scale is different. In some embodiments, the fermentation step can be carried out in a fermentation tank and can optionally be combined with a stirring process, wherein the stirring process has a rotation speed of 10 rpm to 100 rpm, or 10 rpm to 40 rpm. In some specific examples, the aforementioned fermentation tank is a ton-scale fermentation tank. In some embodiments, the volume ratio of the first liquid culture medium to the second liquid culture medium can be, for example, 1:100 to 1:200. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dry weight yield of the mycelium can be, for example, 1.00 weight percentage (wt%) to 1.50 weight percentage.

In other embodiments, during the fermentation step in the fermentation tank, gas may be selectively introduced into the fermentation tank, wherein the gas may be selected from the group consisting of, for example, air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, helium, or any combination thereof.

There is no particular limitation on the types of the solid culture medium, the first liquid culture medium, and the second liquid culture medium. In some embodiments, the solid culture medium may be, for example, malt extract agar (MEA) culture medium, Sabouraud's agar culture medium, and/or modified formulations thereof. In some specific examples, the MEA culture medium may comprise, for example, 20.0 g/L malt extract, 20.0 g/L glucose, 1.0 g/L peptone, 20.0 g/L agar, and the balance water.

The formulations of the first and second liquid culture media can be the same or different, depending on actual needs. Furthermore, the pH values of the first and second liquid culture media can be, for example, between pH 5 and pH 8. In some embodiments, the first and second liquid culture media can include, but are not limited to, cereals, legumes, inorganic salts, carbohydrates, yeast extract, and/or malt extract to provide sufficient nitrogen and/or carbon sources for the second and third mycelia. This can be adjusted as needed.

In some embodiments, the beans may include, but are not limited to, red beans, pinto beans, emperor beans, soybeans, mung beans, and/or macadamia nuts.

In some embodiments, the inorganic salts may include, but are not limited to, potassium nitrate (KNO ₃ ), magnesium sulfate (MgSO ₄ ), calcium chloride (CaCl ₂ ), ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH ₄ H ₂ PO ₄ ) and/or potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH ₂ PO ₄ ).

In some embodiments, carbohydrates may include, but are not limited to, monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and/or polysaccharides, wherein monosaccharides may include, but are not limited to, fructose, glucose, ribose, galactose, and/or mannose; disaccharides may include, but are not limited to, sucrose, lactose, maltose, and/or trehalose; oligosaccharides may include, but are not limited to, fructooligosaccharides, malto-oligosaccharides, isomalto-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, and/or soy oligosaccharides; and polysaccharides may include, but are not limited to, inulin, starch, glycogen, oat β-glucan, and/or chitin.

In some embodiments, the organic acid salt may include, but is not limited to, citrate (e.g., sodium citrate), acetate, malate, tartrate, and/or quinate.

In some embodiments, the fermented product may be further subjected to a drying step and/or a grinding step to obtain a dried product of mycelium. The terms "dried product" and "freeze-dried powder" may be used interchangeably.

The drying method is not particularly limited and may include freeze drying, vacuum drying, or spray drying to remove some or all of the moisture from the mycelium. In some embodiments, the mycelium of S. aureus is freeze-dried to obtain a lyophilized powder. The grinding step can be performed using conventional methods, such as mechanical grinding, drum grinding, or pneumatic grinding.

The fermentate, mycelia obtained from the fermentate through solid-liquid separation, and dried mycelia obtained after drying and/or grinding are rich in fungal protein (also referred to as mycelial protein). For example, the protein yield of the mycelia of S. aureus can be greater than 45 weight percent and less than or equal to 55 weight percent.

Mycoprotein has a unique structure and function that can increase the hardness and toughness of food ingredients and processed foods (e.g., crusts) derived from them. It effectively reduces cracking and breakage, improving the quality of processed foods while maintaining their original crispy texture. It prevents breakage during production and subsequent transportation, enhancing the consumer experience. Therefore, mycoprotein can be used as a food additive (along with other plant and microbial-derived products).

When mycoprotein is used to improve the fragility and crumbing of processed foods, the following method can be used. Taking the production of dough as an example, first, the raw materials of traditional handmade egg rolls are provided, which may include but are not limited to flour (e.g., low-gluten flour), sugar, protein, oil, and mycoprotein produced from the mycelium of Fusarium venenatum . The content of the above flour, sugar, protein, and oil can refer to the known usage amounts, and (>0) to 15% by weight or 5 to 15% by weight of the flour content is replaced by mycoprotein. Then, the above raw materials are mixed evenly to form a dough, which is divided into small pieces and rolled into thin sheets using a rolling pin. The thin sheets are then cut into dough using a mold. The shape of the dough is not particularly limited and depends on the mold used.

Next, make the egg roll. Roll the dough with the mycoprotein into an egg roll and bake in a preheated oven. You can use any temperature and time you're used to; there are no specific restrictions. Bake until golden brown and slightly crispy.

The egg rolls containing mycoprotein were evaluated for chewiness, taste, hardness, and toughness. The chewiness and taste of the egg rolls containing mycoprotein were not statistically significantly different from those of traditional egg rolls. However, the hardness and toughness of the egg rolls containing mycoprotein were significantly improved, demonstrating better compressive resistance. This means that the egg rolls containing mycoprotein are less likely to break or crumble under external forces, thus improving their fragility and crumbing without compromising their overall taste. Therefore, mycoprotein has potential future applications as a food additive (or other plant- and microbial-derived products).

It should be understood that the specific ingredients, formulations, dosages, testing methods, concepts, examples, and embodiments described below are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present invention. The key features of the present invention may be applied to various embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art should be able to readily identify the essential technical features of the present invention and make various modifications and enhancements to suit different applications and conditions, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Example 1: Preparation of fungal protein

The Fusarium venenatum strain used in this example was purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and deposited with the number ATCC 20334 as the first mycelium.

First, the first mycelium of S. aureus was inoculated onto a solid culture medium and cultured at 25°C for 3 to 5 days to obtain the second mycelium. The solid culture medium was malt extract agar (MEA) medium, which contained 20.0 g/L malt extract, 20.0 g/L glucose, 1.0 g/L peptone, 20.0 g/L agar, and the balance water.

Next, the second mycelium was inoculated into the first liquid culture medium and cultured for three days at 25°C, pH 7, a rotation speed of 10 to 100 rpm, and an aeration rate of 0.01 to 1.5 VVM to obtain the third mycelium. The first liquid culture medium contained 1.0 weight percent glucose, 0.3 weight percent sodium citrate, 0.3 weight percent potassium nitrate (KNO ₃ ), 0.1 weight percent ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH ₄ H ₂ PO ₄ ), and the balance of purified water, with a pH of 5 to 8.

The third mycelium was then placed in a fermentation tank and fermented for 3 days at 25°C, pH 7, a rotation speed of 10 to 100 rpm, and an aeration rate of 0.01 to 1.5 VVM in a second liquid culture medium to obtain a fermentate. The second liquid culture medium contained 1.0 weight percent glucose, 0.3 weight percent sodium citrate, 0.3 weight percent potassium nitrate (KNO ₃ ), 0.1 weight percent ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH ₄ H ₂ PO ₄ ), and the balance pure water.

The fermented product is then centrifuged to obtain a pellet (also known as mycelium). The fermented product may be further dried and/or ground to obtain a dried mycelium product, wherein the mycelium has a protein yield greater than 45 weight percent and less than or equal to 55 weight percent.

Example 2: Preparation of egg rolls with added fungal protein

2.1 Preparation Examples 1 to 3

First, cake flour (250-X) g, sugar 200 g, eggs 400 g, butter 400 g, and mycoprotein 12.5 g were uniformly mixed to form dough, where X ranged from 12.5 to 37.5. The dough of Preparation Example 1 contained 12.5 g (5 wt %) of mycoprotein, the dough of Preparation Example 2 contained 25.0 g (10 wt %) of mycoprotein, and the dough of Preparation Example 1 contained 37.5 g (15 wt %) of mycoprotein.

Then, the dough is divided into small pieces, rolled into thin slices using a rolling pin, and then cut into rectangular dough pieces (e.g., rectangle) using a mold.

Next, make the egg roll. Roll the dough with the mycoprotein into an egg roll and bake in a preheated oven. Use your usual baking temperature and time. Bake until golden brown and slightly crispy.

Example 3: Evaluation of the effect of fungal protein on egg rolls

In this example, a commercially available physical property analyzer was used to evaluate the chewiness, mouthfeel, hardness, and toughness of egg rolls containing mycoprotein. The results are shown in Figures 1 to 4.

Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a bar graph of the chewiness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 according to the present invention, with or without the addition of different levels of mycoprotein, as evaluated using a physical property analyzer. As shown in Figure 1, the chewiness of the egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 with 5%, 10%, and 15% mycoprotein added, respectively, was not statistically significantly different from that of Comparative Example 1. This indicates that the addition of mycoprotein did not negatively impact the texture of the egg rolls. The chewiness of the egg rolls prepared with mycoprotein did not change during chewing, nor did it deteriorate the taste.

Please refer to Figure 2, which shows a bar graph showing the taste evaluation of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Example 1, each with (or without) varying amounts of mycoprotein added, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. As shown in Figure 2, the taste evaluations of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1-3, with 5%, 10%, and 15% mycoprotein added, respectively, were not statistically significantly different from those in Comparative Example 1, indicating that the addition of mycoprotein did not adversely affect the overall taste of the egg rolls.

Please refer to Figure 3, which shows a bar graph of the hardness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 according to the present invention, with or without the addition of different levels of mycoprotein, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. The symbol "*" indicates a statistically significant difference ( p < 0.05) between the groups compared to Comparative Example 1. As shown in Figure 3, the hardness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 2 and 3, with 10% and 15% mycoprotein added, respectively, increased by 20% to 33% compared to Comparative Example 1, demonstrating statistically significant differences. This indicates that increasing the proportion of mycoprotein added increases the hardness of the egg rolls, resulting in better compressive resistance. This means that the egg rolls prepared with mycoprotein are less likely to break or crack when subjected to external forces, thereby reducing their fragility and chipping.

Please refer to Figure 4, which shows a bar graph of the toughness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 according to the present invention, with or without the addition of different levels of mycoprotein, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. The symbol "*" indicates a statistically significant difference ( p < 0.05) between the groups compared to Comparative Example 1. As shown in Figure 4, the toughness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 with the addition of 5%, 10%, and 15% mycoprotein, respectively, increased by 30% to 76% compared to Comparative Example 1, demonstrating statistically significant increases. This indicates that increasing the proportion of mycoprotein added improves the tensile strength of the egg rolls, making them more resilient when stretched or torn, and reducing the likelihood of breakage.

Please refer to Figure 5, which shows the cross-sectional appearance of egg rolls prepared in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 according to the present invention, with (or without) varying amounts of mycoprotein added. As shown in Figure 5, the egg roll prepared in Example 1, with mycoprotein added, exhibits a more intact cross-sectional structure. In contrast, the egg roll prepared in Comparative Example 1 exhibits a more fragmented cross-sectional structure, with the fragmentation being more severe towards the outer layers.

The above examples demonstrate that mycoprotein in food compositions can improve the firmness and toughness of processed foods, reducing the crumbing problem of the processed foods without affecting their overall taste. Future applications of mycoprotein include food additives (or other plant- and microbial-derived products).

In short, the present invention uses specific mycoproteins, specific culture media, specific food compositions and processed foods, specific production processes, or specific evaluation methods merely to illustrate the mycoprotein-containing food compositions and processed foods of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other mycoproteins, other culture media, other food compositions and processed foods, other production processes, or other evaluation methods may also be used to illustrate the mycoprotein-containing food compositions and processed foods of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and are not limited to the aforementioned. For example, mycoproteins can also be added to other easily crumbing processed foods, such as sun cakes, wife cakes, and cream puff pastries, to effectively alleviate the problem of fragility and crumbing in processed foods.

According to the above embodiments, the food compositions and processed foods containing mycoprotein of the present invention have the advantage that the addition of mycoprotein to the food composition can increase the hardness and toughness of the processed food, reducing the problem of brittleness and crumbing of the processed food, without affecting the overall taste. Therefore, mycoprotein can be used as a food additive (or other plant- and microbial-derived products).

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to several specific embodiments, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the embodiments contained herein.

(without)

To facilitate understanding of the above and other objects, features, advantages, and embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying figures provide detailed descriptions as follows: Figure 1 is a bar graph showing the chewiness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention, with or without the addition of fungal protein at varying levels, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. Figure 2 is a bar graph showing the texture of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention, with or without the addition of fungal protein at varying levels, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. Figure 3 is a bar graph showing the firmness of egg rolls prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention, with or without the addition of fungal protein at varying levels, as assessed by a physical property analyzer. Figure 4 is a bar graph showing the toughness of egg rolls prepared in Preparation Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention, with or without the addition of mycoprotein at different levels, as evaluated using a physical property analyzer. Figure 5 is a photograph showing the cross-sectional appearance of egg rolls prepared in Preparation Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention, with or without the addition of mycoprotein at different levels, after cutting.

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Claims (7)

A food composition containing mycoprotein comprises: a food mixture comprising flour, sugar, protein and fat; and mycoprotein uniformly distributed in the food mixture, wherein the mycoprotein is composed of mycelium of Fusarium venenatum , which is purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and has a deposit number of ATCC 20334, wherein the mycelia contain greater than 45 weight percent and less than or equal to 55 weight percent of protein, and the amount of the mycoprotein used is 5 weight percent to 15 weight percent, based on the total amount of the flour and the mycoprotein used being 100 weight percent. Compared to the toughness of a processed food made from the food composition not containing the mycoprotein, the toughness of the processed food made from the food composition containing the mycoprotein is increased by 30% to 80%, and the processed food is an egg roll. The food composition containing mycoprotein as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of the flour used is 100 weight percent and the amount of the mycoprotein used is 10 weight percent to 15 weight percent. The food composition containing mycoprotein as described in claim 1, wherein the toughness of the processed food made from the food composition containing the mycoprotein is increased by 30% to 76%. A processed food containing mycoprotein comprises: a dough, wherein the dough comprises flour; and mycoprotein uniformly distributed in the dough, wherein the mycoprotein is composed of mycelia of S. aureus, a strain purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and deposited with ATCC 20334. The mycelia contain greater than 45 weight percent and less than or equal to 55 weight percent protein. Based on the total amount of flour and mycoprotein used being 100 weight percent, the amount of mycoprotein used is 5 weight percent to 15 weight percent. Compared to the toughness of the processed food without mycoprotein, the toughness of the processed food containing mycoprotein is increased by 30% to 80%. The processed food is an egg roll. The processed food containing fungal protein as described in claim 4, wherein the amount of the flour used is 100 weight percent and the amount of the fungal protein used is 10 weight percent to 15 weight percent. The processed food containing mycoprotein as described in claim 4, wherein the hardness of the processed food containing the mycoprotein is increased by 20% to 35% compared to the hardness of the processed food not containing the mycoprotein. The processed food containing mycoprotein as described in claim 4, wherein the hardness of the processed food containing the mycoprotein is increased by 20% to 33% compared to the hardness of the processed food not containing the mycoprotein.