E.i. Dupont De Nemours and Company

Richard A Yates

Hua-Feng Huang

A process for obtaining lower carboxylic acids from aqueous lower carboxylic acid salts, such as obtained from a fermenter. The process involves converting the lower carboxylic acid salt to the corresponding acid with carbon dioxide, extracting the thus formed acid with a solvent and using the thus formed bicarbonate salt to buffer the fermenter.

Removal and concentration of lower molecular weight organic acids from

Fungal mycelia are grown in a medium wherein the phosphate level is only slightly above the level which will limit growth, which results in a slightly lower content of ribonucleic acid in the mycelia but which results in the cells being much more amenable to removal of ribonucleic acid by simple means such as thermal shock.

Low phosphate growth of fungal mycelia

An aqueous suspension of a proteinaceous mass of fungal mycelial fibers is foamed with a gas such as air under shear conditions adequate to break the gas into bubbles small enough to be retained by the suspension but not so vigorous as to destroy the fungal mycelial fibers. The resulting slurry is filtered to remove most of the water while retaining the air. The resulting filter cake retains its foamed structure and can then be further processed if desired and air dried to produce a texturized meat-like product. In a preferred aspect of the invention the filter cake is sliced into strips, recompacted and dried to produce a product closely resembling meat in physical properties.

Foam texturization of fungal mycelial fibers

A proteinaceous mass of fungal mycelial fibers is treated by rapid dielectric heating to reduce the moisture content by from 8 to 40 weight percent to give a product with a solids level of 30 to 70 weight percent, and preferably a solids level of 40 to 60 weight percent. The initial proteinaceous mass may be pretreated such as by aqueous thermal shock to reduce the nucleic acid content, before it is formed into fiber bundles of from 0.2 to 1.0 mm. in diameter, and having an average length to diameter ratio of greater than 20. These bundles are interconnected by groups of hyphae or by single hyphal with average diameter of from 0.004 to 0.01 mm. and length to diameter ratio of from 10 to 1000. The dielectric heating process puffs and crosslinks (heat sets) the product which then may be further dried such as in a hot air oven to reduce the moisture content of the mass to the desired level below 10 weight percent. The product is rehydratable to 1 to 5 and preferably 1.5 to 3.0 times its dry weight to yield a form having a texture and chewability resembling meat.

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Wilmington, DE, United States of America

Richard A Yates