Challenge Accepted: Heat Stable Plant-Based Salami

The news that plant-based diets are growing in popularity is no great surprise. The appetite for alternatives free from animal products began years ago with substitutes for nuggets and patties. However, mimicking the firm and rough texture of an Italian salami, for example, presents manufacturers with a major technological challenge. Fed up with plant-based salami that tastes and feels like dark-colored mortadella, German wheat ingredient specialist Loryma has now developed concepts using special binding agents, texturates and starter cultures to make salami that tastes great not only on bread but also pizza and other hot food.

Perhaps it's the German tradition of mostly eating cold dinners: topping slices of bread with a selection of delicacies from the cheese and deli meat counters was the motivation for the Loryma R&D team's latest innovation, which was also inspired by Italian specialties. The global market for meat alternatives being valued at USD 5.4 billion (2021) and forecast to grow by a CAGR of 11 percent until 2029 (1) was a motivating factor, too.

The team developed a range of different wheat-based binders to suit the peculiarities of various types of sausage, particularly salami. Many plant-based salamis, whether as a sliced product or whole, have a mouthfeel very reminiscent of mortadella and are soft and elastic in texture. "But that's not how salami actually feels, right? Plus, they're not made to be eaten hot, which is a shame when you're craving vegan pepperoni pizza," observes Loryma's Head of Product Development, Norbert Klein.

SUPERIOR PLANT-BASED SALAMI

Wheat is not necessarily the first raw material that comes to mind when one thinks of meat alternatives. Yet it's an outstanding ingredient as a result of its technological advantages and sustainability credentials. Wheat scores highly thanks to its multifunctionality, meaning almost 99 percent of each grain can be used through the production of co-products, ensuring a resource-saving approach to the environment. Loryma processes only European wheat, which minimizes both transport emissions and the risk of supply bottlenecks. From a technological perspective, functional ingredients from wheat can be used in the production of food, especially meat alternatives, to optimize texture and nutritional value, while being sensorially neutral.