Now, researchers present a new approach for creating desirable vegan seafood mimics that taste good, while maintaining the healthful profile of real fish. They 3D-printed an ink made from microalgae protein and mung bean protein, and their proof-of-concept calamari rings can even be air-fried for a quick, tasty snack. The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
"I think it's imminent that the seafood supply could be very limited in the future," adds Poornima Vijayan, a graduate student who is presenting the work at the meeting. "We need to be prepared from an alternative protein point of view, especially here in Singapore, where over 90% of the fish is imported."
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People around the world eat a lot of seafood, but the oceans are not an infinite resource. Overfishing has depleted many wild fish populations. That lack of sustainability, combined with heavy-metal and microplastic contamination, as well as ethical concerns, have pushed some consumers toward plant-based mimics. But such alternatives are still difficult for seafood lovers to find.
While some mock seafood products—such as imitation crabmeat made from minced and reshaped pollock or other white fish—are already on the market, making mimics from plants has been a challenge. It's hard to achieve the nutritional content, unique textures and mild flavors of cooked fish meat using vegetables or fungi.
"Plant-based seafood mimics are out there, but the ingredients don't usually include protein. We wanted to make protein-based products that are nutritionally equivalent to or better than real seafood and address food sustainability," says Dejian Huang, Ph.D., the principal investigator of this research.
Recently, Huang and his research group at the National University of Singapore used legume protein to develop better seafood mimics. And they replicated the flakiness and mouth feel of real fish by 3D printing a protein-based ink with a food-grade 3D printer. Depositing the edible ink layer by layer created different textures, some fatty and smooth and others fibrous and chewy, in a single product.
