Wet-Spinning Technology for Plant-Based Meat Alternative: Influence of Protein Composition on Physicochemical and Textural Properties

The development of a fibrous-structured meat alternative that can perfectly mimic the tribology of the meat is considered to be extremely challenging. In this study, a bottom-up technique, wet spinning, was used to produce a fiber-like structure similar to muscle fiber. Different protein concentrations (0% to 16%) of wheat protein, pea protein isolates, and sodium alginate (2%) were used as an emulsifier and compared with the conventional meat (<i>longissimus dorsi</i> muscle) from a barrow in terms of physicochemical (pH, color, moisture content, cooking loss), textural (Texture profile and Warner-Bratzler Shear Force), and sensory parameters. The results from the study showed that the ratio of protein concentration significantly affected the solution behavior, leading to change in the spinnability of solution. The combined protein formulations displayed by a greater range of physicochemical and textural properties, especially hardness and WBSF, ranged from 22 N to 32.20 N and 4.26 to 4.71 kg/cm² in comparison to each other (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, principal component analysis has shown that the overall profiling was significantly different than that of conventional meat (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The overall results suggested that the blend of wheat protein and pea protein isolate shows great potential for preparing a variety of structured meat alternatives by optimizing the concentration based on the desired product profiling.