Replicating fats in plant-based meat is an important part of getting its texture right. A range of ingredients, including a variety of oils and even coconut fat, can be used to do this.
Substituting fat in vegan products “allows us to create plant-based alternatives that closely resemble the taste and texture of traditional animal-based products,” Sergio Pinto, CEO of Brazil-based ingredients company Cellva Ingredients, told FoodNavigator. “This is crucial for consumer acceptance and adoption of plant-based diets.”
ÄIO, an Estonia-based startup focusing on creating substitutes for palm oil and animal fats, uses its encapsulated oils and fats as ingredients to substitute animal fat. It avoids palm oil as stringently as animal-based fats in its products.
“As palm oil is really a “no-go” them most of the product developers as well as we are using in our plant-based experiments rapeseed oil in combination with deodorized coconut fat”, Mary-Liis Kütt, Chief Innovation Officer at ÄIO, told FoodNavigator.
“These traditional vegetable oils are mostly used as a control. For the novel product development we are using our own produced encapsulated oil as well as RedOil and Buttery fat.”
Finding a replacement for palm oil, which when not sustainably sourced can have a negative impact on the environment, is as central to ÄIO’s goals as replacing animal fat itself.
