A Novel Approach Coupling Optimized Enzymatic Hydrolysis Conditions with Spray Drying to Produce Functional Acheta domesticus Protein Powder Ingredients

As the global population continues to grow, so does the demand for alternative protein sources. Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, has long been practiced in many cultures worldwide and is now gaining increasing interest in Western countries. In this work, we developed novel, functional insect-based ingredients from the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) by utilizing optimized enzymatic hydrolysis, using two enzymes (Alcalase® or Flavourzyme®) coupled with spray drying. A Box–Behnken experimental design was used to optimize enzymatic treatments and maximize spray-drying performance and product solubility. Under optimized conditions, spray-dried hydrolyzed cricket protein (HCP) produced using Alcalase® achieved a solids recovery of 51.44% and a solubility of 58.28 ± 0.5%. In comparison, Flavourzyme®–HCP, under optimized conditions, exhibited a higher solubility of 61.25 ± 0.8%. Additional functional properties were improved for Alcalase®–HCP and Flavourzyme®–HCP, respectively, including foaming capacity at pH 4 (26.80 ± 4.0%, 36.27 ± 1.0%) and 10 (50.98 ± 2.8%, 47.06 ± 1.6%), and foaming stability in acidic conditions at pH 4 (24.18 ± 4.0%, 30.39 ± 2.9%). Moreover, the emulsion stability, especially at pH 7 (74.70 ± 3.5%, 52.04 ± 2.8%) and 10 (68.20 ± 11.3%, 69.72 ± 3.2%), was also enhanced. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate optimized enzymatic hydrolysis coupled with spray drying to enhance the functional properties of A. domesticus protein powder. Overall, we established optimized processing conditions to produce spray-dried functional insect ingredients with desirable functional attributes.