Bean powders improved the quality characteristics of high-moisture extrudate prepared from pea protein isolate: Texture, structure and sensory

The textured vegetable proteins (TVP) prepared by high-moisture extrusion (HME) are considered ideal substitutes for animal meat due to their similar texture and taste of muscle fibers. However, HME-TVP has the problems of hard texture and low fibrous degree, which cannot meet the consumers' demand. In this study, the effects of three bean powders (including black kidney bean, chickpea and broad bean powders) on the texture, structure and sensory of high-moisture extruded pea protein isolate (PPI) were investigated to improve the quality of PPI extrudate. The hardness of PPI extrudate significantly decreased with increasing bean powder ratio, which was closely related to the carbohydrates (such as starch and dietary fiber) in bean powder. Synchronously, the incorporation of bean powder enhanced the fibrous degree of PPI extrudate by 16%, possibly because the protein in bean powder promoted the aggregation of PPI. The PPI extrudates containing 15% (w/w) bean powder had obvious fibrous structure and the highest sensory score. During the HME process, bean powder promoted the transformation of random coil structure in textured PPI into alpha-helix and beta-sheet structures, meanwhile promoted the conversion of immobilized water in textured PPI into bound water and free water. Furthermore, the vegetarian beef cube product prepared by PPI extrudate containing 15% (w/w) bean powder was close to the real beef cube in appearance, color and taste, and received high overall acceptability. This study provided valuable insights for improving the quality of plant-based meat analogues.