Hydrosol addresses meatless trend

These days, more and more people are cutting back on meat or even giving up meat and sausage entirely, according to Hydrosol, with vegetarian and vegan products getting more shelf space in regular supermarkets. Hydrosol says it is meeting the rising demand for meatless alternatives with new all-in compounds for the manufacture of vegetarian and […]

These days, more and more people are cutting back on meat or even giving up meat and sausage entirely, according to Hydrosol, with vegetarian and vegan products getting more shelf space in regular supermarkets. Hydrosol says it is meeting the rising demand for meatless alternatives with new all-in compounds for the manufacture of vegetarian and vegan cold cuts, and alternatives to hot boiled sausages.

These all-in compounds are claimed to contain all the components necessary for the formulation, including mild seasoning that can be enhanced as desired. The composition of these products addresses the demands of nutrition-focussed consumers in detail.

“Our new HydroTOP series all-in compounds consist of various hydrocolloids and vegetable proteins. For vegan cold cuts we use soy and pea protein, while the vegetarian versions contain pea and egg protein,” said product developer Carsten Carstens of Hydrosol’s meat product R&D. “The stabilising systems contain no gluten, milk protein or phosphates. The seasoning is completely free of glutamate. For the colouring agent we use an alternative to natural cochineal, since that is harvested from scale insects and so is an animal product, strictly speaking.” Yet the final products have the appetizing pink colour typical of sausage cold cuts.

But according to Carstens, the main thing is the texture, which is absolutely comparable to bologna or mortadella.

“We have succeeded in developing the basis for a meatless cold cut that has a pleasing bite and can be sliced quite effectively by conventional slicing machines, which is very important for industrial production. The products have a familiar mouth feel that consumers are accustomed to from conventional cold cuts. As a result they win over even enthusiastic meat and sausage eaters.”

The vegetarian alternatives to wieners and currywurst also compare favourably with their traditional meat counterparts. “With products that are consumed hot, getting a pleasingly firm texture is a special challenge. Our special new functional system for this purpose gives the ideal, firm bite.”

With Hydrosol’s all-in compounds manufacturers can make products that address consumer demand for meatless alternatives, while offering a high level of enjoyment. Production is also very straightforward, requiring only a conventional cutter and a stuffer to fill the finished mass into casings. The functional systems are stirred together with water, salt and vegetable oil. By adding ingredients like herbs, nuts, blanched vegetables, mushrooms or cheese, manufacturers can give their cold cuts an individual note.

A Stephan cutter can also be used for production. These new all-in compounds from Hydrosol are thus of interest not just for the meat industry, but also for manufacturers of cheese preparations and alternatives, as well as manufacturers of vegetarian and delicatessen products. For example, the latter can use vegan cold cuts and Hydrosol’s vegan mayonnaise compound to make completely vegan alternatives to sausage salad with high sensory appeal.