Turning whole soybean-derived formulations into plant-based meat analogues : 3D printed Pickering bigels stabilized by media-milled soybean particles

Abstract

Development of sustainable and nutritious plant-based meat analogues requires structuring strategies that can mimic the fibrous texture, structural integrity, and baking performance of animal-derived meat. In this study, whole soybean-derived formulations were turned into plant-based meat analogues with good heating stability by 3D printing of Pickering bigels stabilized by media-milled soybean particles (SPs) with the aid of freeze-structuring and transglutaminase (TG) cross-linking. Influences of TG, oil/water ratio, and freeze-structuring on stabilization and 3D printing performance of Pickering bigels, as well as baking behavior of resulting meat analogues, were investigated. Particle size of SPs reduced from 36.08 ± 0.98 μm to 7.87 ± 0.69 μm after 60 min of milling, with majority of bioactives well preserved. SPs adsorbing at the oil-water interface to stabilize Pickering emulsion with long-term stability (30 days) across a wide pH (2 to 8) and salt concentrations (50 to 400 mM) range. TG cross-linking facilitated formation of robust SPs hydrogel network. Freeze-structuring induced porous, fiber-like structure within the Pickering bigels, leading to enhanced structural integrity after baking. At 2% TG and O/W ratio of 2:8 to 3:7, 3D printed Pickering bigels based plant-meat analogues demonstrated superior shape fidelity and balanced texture after baking. This study develops a new “green” method of turning whole soybean-derived Pickering bigels into sustainable meat analogues with fibrous and fatty characteristic, and provides valuable insights into modulating structure and texture of Pickering bigels. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]