Vegetarian alternatives to meat and sausage remain a strong trend. Much of this is due to the growing number of flexitarians, people with substantially reduced meat consumption.
To address this target group, Hydrosol has developed a system solution that lets manufacturers offer a wide range of meatless products, including vegetarian sausages such as wieners, bockwurst, hot dogs and liver loaf, as well as vegetarian ground 'meat' that can be used in various applications.
'With our all-in compound from the HydroTOP VEG series, producers can make semi-finished products for individual further processing, as well as finished products that are ready to eat,' reports Carsten Carstens, Hydrosol R&D Meat Products. 'Thus, with just one system, many different vegetarian ground meat alternatives are possible, which address different customer groups and open up promising new marketing opportunities.'
For large-scale users such as cafeterias and caterers, the semi-finished products in logs or preground form provide the basis for many different foods. Industrial manufacturers can use them to produce a range of vegetarian retail items.
For example, the vegetarian ground is an excellent basis for vegetarian bolognaise sauce, hearty stews and soups, chili sin carne and lasagne. It’s also ideal for making 'meat' crumbles for tacos, frozen pizza and ravioli. Like real ground meat, the meatless version is freeze-thaw stable. It is equally suitable for frozen foods, canned foods and sauces in jars.
The enjoyment value is just as high: the vegetarian ground has exactly the same taste as the animal product, and fries just as well. The products have the familiar mouthfeel that consumers are accustomed to from conventional ground meat, so meat eaters will enjoy them too.
HydroTOP VEG also meets the expectations of consumers who are mindful of their nutrition. Carsten Carstens notes: 'We use soy and egg white protein. That makes this all-in compound free from dairy products, as well as gluten and phosphates. The seasoning is completely free from flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate. And, of course, we use natural colours.'
Production is also very straightforward. HydroTOP VEG is a hydrocolloid-protein combination with emulsifying and stabilising components. It contains all the ingredients for complete formulation, including a mild basic seasoning that can be enhanced as desired. It only needs to be stirred together with water, salt and vegetable oil, formed and then cooked. The vegetarian ground product is then ready for further processing.
This new all-in compound allows easy production of a wide range of high-quality products that address the ongoing trend to meatless alternatives. Their high protein and low fat content meet the highest nutritional demands, while the finished products offer excellent appeal.