Fully vegetable-based mayo made delicious
by Stacy PyettResearchers at NIZO food research have developed a recipe for making vegetable-based mayonnaise which matches the sensory quality of a traditional egg mayonnaise. Products based on vegetable ingredients until now were typically rough or astringent in mouthfeel, and often had a protein-related off flavor. Researchers at NIZO food research successfully overcame these challenges using a knowledge-based approach to enable rapid development.
Vegetable protein replacement of animal-sourced proteins is desirable for reasons of cost, health, and sustainability. In many cases the limitations for replacement are either due to insufficient functionality of the vegetable proteins or to unpleasant off-flavors. These issues arise due to the properties of the proteins themselves, but are also caused by poorly controlled processing-- most commercial vegetable protein ingredients are fully denatured and thus low in solubility and functionality.
Mayonnaise is a protein-stabilized oil-in-water emulsion. Traditionally, egg proteins are used to stabilize the oil-water interface. Thus the most important functionality for any vegetable protein replacement for egg proteins is emulsifying capacity. Researchers at NIZO developed a database of functionalities (solubility, emulsifying capacity, acid stability, gel strength, etc.) of vegetable proteins from a wide variety of sources. “This knowledge enabled rapid selection of a few key vegetable protein preparations for testing in mayonnaise” says project leader Stacy Pyett. Two were found to yield shelf-stable fully vegetable-based mayonnaises.
In sensory profiling, it was found that vegetable protein mayonnaises could achieve a match texturally with current commercial egg-based products. However, they were typically rated higher in astringency and in roughness. NIZO researchers investigated the origins of these two attributes by evaluating the in-mouth behavior of mayonnaises. Using the findings to direct the ingredient development, an improved protein preparation was developed. Mayonnaises prepared from the improved protein preparation were rated similarly to traditional egg mayonnaises, with a clean taste and smooth mouthfeel.
Pyett is convinced that the approach used will yield more results. “Applying the vegetable protein database allowed us to formulate an excellent product in a short time,” says Pyett. “We are excited to apply this knowledge to other product categories.”