Battelle Memorial Institute

Battelle Development Corporation

Willy Rufer

Claude Giddey

Robert Menzi

A process for the manufacturing of a meat-analog foodstuff using an aqueous protein paste as the starting material. In this process, the aqueous paste which is prepared by grinding meat, poultry or fish offals is cooled until it partly solidifies as a plastic mass whereafter it is subjected to mechanical forces which cause the protein fibrils of the mass to reorient themselves in a preferred direction thus imparting to the mass a texture resembling that of muscular fibers.

Process for the manufacture of a foodstuff having a fibrous structure

A protein food product having a general appearance, taste, nutritional properties similar to those of dried meat and having also a cracked texture similar to the fibrous texture of dried meat is produced by partially dehydrating a homogeneous mass of aqueous vegetable protein gel.

Process for producing a protein-based food

The present invention is a proteinaceous food product and a method of its production. A mixture of protein and water is formed into a thin film between successive parallel rolls rotating in opposite directions and at sequentially increasing speeds so as to impart at least a 40% stretch to the film prior to removing the stretched film from the last roll with a blade set at an angle to the roll. The scraping off of the thin film forms a structure consisting of groups of many small folds interspersed on substantially larger folds. Compaction of this material creates a fiberous structure composed of the numerous small folds of material surrounded by a matrix of the material once comprising the larger folds. This compacted structure approximates the structure of natural meat where fibers are dispersed in a matrix of connective tissue. The volume percent of fibers in the product of the present invention can be altered to produce a strong and highly fiberous product or a weakly coherent structure consisting of a larger percentage of relatively homogenous matrix material.

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Willy Rufer