Functional role of garlic in enhancing quality and reducing off-flavors of soy protein-based meat analogs

Due to the increasing population and the growing demand for healthy food, there is a rising need for alternative food sources, leading to greater attention towards future foods. This study aimed to enhance the flavor of plant-based extruded meat analogs using garlic. The raw materials for these plant-based extruded meat analogs were mixtures of isolated soybean protein and different proportions of freeze-dried garlic powder (0%, 5%, and 10%). The results showed that garlic powder affected pore formation and puffing during the extrusion process, which resulted in a decrease in the number of pores and expansion ratio of the meat analogs and a decrease in water-holding capacity. Additionally, the values for springiness, cohesiveness, cutting strength, degree of texturization, and integrity index also decreased, while the nitrogen solubility index, which is inversely related to the integrity index, increased. The electronic nose indicated that the peak area of hexanal, an off-flavor component in soybeans, decreased with the addition of garlic. Therefore, although adding garlic reduces the texture quality of extruded meat analogs, it effectively decreases the off-flavor components of soybeans, suggesting that garlic has potential as an additive to reduce off-flavors in plant-based meat analogs.