Plant-derived extracts
Starches and fibers derived from plants are increasingly being used to plump up meat and poultry products. For example, The Dow Chemical Co., Philadelphia, offers cellulose ingredients that can be used in various comminuted meat applications.
“Addition provides a good, juicy bite, even in reduced-fat products,” says Christopher Spontelli, marketing manager. “In hot dogs, 0.75 to 1 percent modified cellulose can be used to replace lean meat and reduce cost. Our data has shown a yielded cost savings of 4 to 6 percent over control, while still maintaining heated firmness and juiciness.”
Some yield enhancement ingredients allow for fat reduction in fried foods. For example, when modified cellulose is used in the coating system of fried meat products, fat uptake can be reduced as much as 35 percent during the frying process. These fibers can also increase yield in fried foods by increasing moisture retention during frying and extending hold time under heat lamps, as well as improve adhesion of coatings to the meat substrate.
“When it comes to clean-label formulating, the functional ingredient formulation tool box shrinks,” Lundberg says. “Processors are tasked to replace their workhorse functional ingredients with clean-label versions, while maintaining yields, reduced purge and comparable sensory results.
“One newer functional ingredient that is up to the challenge is citrus fiber,” Lundberg says. “It can be used along with clean-label starches, such as native rice starch, to maintain yields when replacing chemical phosphates.”
Not all citrus fibers are created the same, according to Lundberg. “Our citrus fiber is a very unique clean-label functional fiber that is classified as a binder and can be used at levels up to 3 percent in meat and poultry products, with labeling options of ‘citrus flour’ or ‘dried citrus pulp.’”
Corbion offers a patent-pending blend of citrus fiber and vinegar powder that not only improves cook yield, it provides food safety benefits. Declared simply as “citrus fiber, vinegar,” it is considered a clean-label option for all-natural marketed products.
“Data show a 4.4 percent yield increase in natural turkey breast when this ingredient is 1.5 percent of a marinade,” Carlson says. “In an injected natural ham with fibrous casing, a use level of 1.2 percent allowed for a 9.9 percent yield increase over the control.”
Olivier Chevalier, business development manager-meat applications, Beneo, Belgium, says, “We offer rice starch that binds moisture, assisting with maintaining yields and margins without any negative impact on the end product. Being pure white, rice starch ensures that poultry, in particular, has a clean look, with no pinking.”
Sampling tests by Texas A&M Univ., College Station, Texas, showed rice starch improves yields comparable to modified corn starch, the most common starch used in tumbling of poultry products in the US. Additionally, a sensorial test with 50 volunteers confirmed that in terms of organoleptic properties, rice starch is a viable alternative. There were no differences in taste, tenderness, juiciness and appearance between the starch solutions tested.
Unlike some other hydrocolloids, rice starch does not increase a marinade’s viscosity. Due to the structure of amylopectin and its ratio to amylose in rice starch, there is very low retrogradation, enabling water retention to be maintained after the poultry has been packed.
“This not only means that there is no unsightly water release in the packaging for consumers, but that the product remains moister for the duration of its shelf life,” Chevalier says.
Westchester, Illinois-based Ingredion Inc., offers functional native starches for clean-label chicken products. Studies show that native starches can effectively replace modified starches and sodium tripolyphosphate to lock in both moisture and flavor in poultry products.
Fruit-derived ingredients offer a label-friendly yield enhancing option. For example, the chemical composition of plums makes them powerful water binders in many types of meat and poultry.
“We offer fresh plum concentrate, and dried plum powder and puree for yield enhancement,” says Rick Perez, research and development chef and spokesman for Sunsweet Growers Inc., Walnut Creek, California. “These products contain naturally high levels of sorbitol (about 15 percent) and fiber. Sorbitol attracts moisture while fiber absorbs moisture and holds it in place.”
Plum ingredients are naturally high in antioxidants, which can enhance shelf life of both raw and cooked products and have been shown to lower the incidence of warmed-over flavor. At the same time, for many applications, the rich deep brown color of dried plum product can replace the need for caramel coloring.
“Our plum ingredients are approved as binders and allowed at levels of up to 2 percent of the total product formulation when used solely for moisture binding,” Perez says. “This limit does not apply when the ingredients are used as a flavor component, such as when added to sausages to improve taste and texture as well as yield.”
With plum ingredients, less can be more. A study done by the Univ. of Arkansas at Fayetteville using boneless skinless chicken breasts found that adding more plum product did not necessarily lead to more marinade pick-up. The study showed that a marinade with 1.1 percent fresh plum concentrate had a 10 percent marinade pickup while a marinade with 2.2 percent of the plum concentrate only had 8 percent.
“When working with plum ingredients, we recommend lowering total salt and spices to keep flavors in balance,” Perez says. “These ingredients are flavor extenders, so we recommend decreasing salt content by 10 percent as a starting point when formulating.”
