The production of “meat-like” fibrous structures from plant protein is an area of major interest currently, with many new products being released onto the market. The most widely-used technology in this sector is “High Moisture Extrusion Cooking” (HMEC).
HMEC differs from other common extrusion processes in the level of moisture in the barrel. Cooking suitable protein at high moisture, then passing it through a long, cooled die, enables the fibrous structure to be developed. Process conditions can be varied to develop different fibrous structures such as beef-like, chicken-like, or fish-like.
Dennis Forte and Gordon Young have been offering extrusion training in Australia and Thailand for over 20 years and are offering a two-day programme in HMEC – live-streamed online – on 18 and 19 November 2021. The course has been offered before in Australia and New Zealand, and most recently they partnered with HES-SO (University of Western Switzerland) – which has a specialist research group in this area of technology – to present a programme streamed in European business hours. The training extrusion programme in Thailand has included a demonstration of HMEC since 2011.
Details of the course in November are available via Food Industry Engineering’s website.
