Ancient techniques could encourage plant-based eating
An international team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), aims to unleash the flavour potential of plant-based products through fermentation and to make these techniques scalable for the food industry. The project is funded by the EU with a total budget of more than 34 million Danish kroner.
It’s quite simple. We need to eat much less meat and many more plants. At least if you ask climate researchers, green organisations, health experts, and even the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
One way to achieve this is to replace the beef burger with plant-based mince, pour oat drink in the coffee, or try vegan cheese on your morning roll.
However, as it stands, several factors prevent many consumers from making this switch, explains Davide Giacalone, associate professor of food innovation at University of Southern Denmark (SDU).
- First and foremost, there’s the taste. If products don’t taste as consumers imagine or if the texture and mouthfeel are off, people won’t buy them. There’s also concern over how highly processed these products are and whether they are actually unhealthy, Giacalone explains.
But the researcher and his colleagues from the Department of Green Technology at SDU have a solution.
With significant EU funding and in collaboration with 17 partners across Europe – including other universities and several private companies – the researchers will use various fermentation techniques to enhance the taste, texture, and health properties of plant-based meat and dairy substitutes. The project is called FlavourFerm.
- Fermentation is, of course, not an invention. It’s a naturally occurring lactic acid fermentation used in foods for thousands of years. Also, some producers of plant-based products already use fermentation, and they are part of this project, says Giacalone.
- However, we still lack systematic knowledge about which fermentation techniques are most effective, where to start the process, and how to scale it up. Technology has also advanced, enabling us to do things today that were previously impossible. If we succeed, we can get many more plant-based products into the consumers’ shopping baskets.
The research project will officially commence on 21-22 November with a kickoff meeting in Odense. The ambition is that when the partners reconvene in four years, they will have developed a comprehensive catalogue of fermentation techniques and their effects on plant-based foods for food industry stakeholders to adopt.
Om projektet
FlavourFerm er et samarbejde mellem 17 forskellige partnere: Syddansk Universitet, Austrian Institute of Technology, Ainia, Basque Culinary Center, Umeå Universitet, European Food Information Ressource, Hylobates Consulting (Affiliated Entity), De La Cueva Gonzalez Cotera Javier (Affiliated Entity), Quadram Institute Bioscience, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Åbo Akademi, Gourmet Bornholm – center for bornholmsk madkultur, FÆRM, Iparlat Tecno, Iparlat (Affiliated Entity), Kinoko-Tech, Serio Roslinny.
Målet er at forbedre smagen, teksturen og sundheden af plantebaserede produkter ved hjælp af fermenteringsteknikker.
Forskningsprojektet er finansieret af EU og har et samlet budget på €4,659,330, altså godt 34 millioner kroner.