PLANT BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES
Allergen-free
alternatives
New generation of
plant-based foods –
without soy or wheat
Alook at current sales figures
and growth projections quickly
reveals the importance of
plant-based alternatives to meat and
dairy products. “The plant-based revolution”
is not just one of this year’s top
trends according to Innova Market Insights,
it’s also a rapidly expanding category
in food retail. Worldwide, the market
for plant-based products is showing
double-digit growth. However, consumer
expectations are rising commensurately.
In addition to flavour, texture
and indulgence, a short ingredients list is
also increasingly important, as is the absence
of soy and other allergenic ingredients.
Accordingly, Hydrosol has long
been using other plant protein sources
instead of soy.
Meat alternatives with peas,
potatoes or fava beans
“Due to the GMO issue and its allergenic
potential the demand for soy in Europe
is declining sharply,” says Florian Bark,
Product Manager at Hydrosol. “In its
place, protein sources like peas, potatoes
and fava beans are coming to the fore,
along with newer sources like chickpeas,
sunflower and algae. For example, we use
these proteins in our plant-based meat
and sausage alternatives.” Allergen- and
soy-free stabilising and texturing systems
based on potato and pea protein can be
used to make a wide range of products,
from cold cuts to salami to bacon.
Hydrosol use mostly soy-free stabilising and texturing systems (photo: Hydrosol)
For plant-based convenience foods,
Hydrosol offers its HydroTOP VEGAN
Patty PP range, based on fava bean
and pea protein, and free of soy, wheat
and other allergens. Together with the
plant-based texturate it enables users
to make vegan burger patties that are
very similar to meat products in taste,
texture and mouth feel. The plantbased
nuggets made with HydroTOP
VEGAN Patty PP and a rice texturate
likewise feature a meat-like structure
with appealing bite. They have the
familiar white colour of chicken nuggets.
With the HydroTOP VEGAN Patty
range, Hydrosol provides a modular
system that can be used to serve the
convenience market with a wide variety
of plant-based foods.
Plant-based alternatives
to dairy products – mostly
soy-free
For a long time now Hydrosol has been
using mostly soy-free stabilising and texturing
systems for the broad spectrum of
plant alternatives to dairy products. Successful
examples include desserts based
on almond and coconut drinks. A functional
system of modified starch, hydrocolloids
and plant fibre lets manufacturers
make a tasty pudding, and can also
be used to make fermented desserts. In
the milk drink category, sunflower and oat
alternatives are possible. A new item in
the portfolio is a plant alternative to sour
cream that cannot be told from the original
– and is just as versatile. This plantbased
sour cream is free of e-numbers,
as well as being entirely soy-free. At FI Europe
in Paris Hydrosol staged the product
in a memorably way. Together with sister
company Deutsche Back it developed a
soy- and gluten-free vegan tarte flambée,
with gluten-free crust, plant-based
sour cream and vegan bacon. “The tarte
flambée was a great success, and many
visitors were immediately won over by the
taste of our sour cream,” reports Product
Manager Katharina Schäfer.
Competence Centre for
plant-based products
Hydrosol saw the potential of plant-based
foods early on, and in 2014 the company
marketed the first functional systems
for making plant-based alternatives to
cheese and sausage. Since then its portfolio
of innovative product ideas has
grown enormously, and today Hydrosol
is an established international expert for
plant-based alternatives. With the formation
of the Plant-based Competence
Centre the company has now bundled
all of its expertise in a creative pool. Here,
product managers, nutritionists, food
technologists and marketing specialists
develop creative concepts to address the
trends in international markets. “In our
stabilising and texturing system concepts
we have long combined market trend
knowledge with scientific and technological
understanding. Our new Plant-based
Competence Center is a seedbed for innovative
food concepts with high future
potential, as well as a dialogue platform
for our customers,” notes Hydrosol Managing
Director Dr Matthias Moser.
Hydrosol has established a Competence
Centre for plant-based products
at is HQ in Ahrensburg, Germany
(photo: Hydrosol)
16 · September 2020 ¦ international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
