Researching the interactions between plant-based proteins and fat matrices can enhance the texture and nutritional quality of vegan cheeses.
Plant-based dairy products offer a popular alternative for those who avoid animal products, but manufacturers struggle to replicate the rich, creamy texture that makes traditional dairy so appealing.
To address this challenge, scientists from the University of Guelph in Ontario and Canadian Light Source Inc. in Saskatchewan are developing plant-based cheese that closely mimics the taste and texture of real cheese while providing improved health benefits.
In a study published in Physics of Fluids by AIP Publishing, researchers examined various plant-based proteins and their interactions with alternative cheese structures to better understand how to recreate the desirable qualities of dairy cheese.
“If you wanted to strictly only eat plant-based products, you would end up eating a lot of beans and tofu, which can be little bit boring after a while,” said author Alejandro Marangoni. “Now, consumers expect essentially the same animal product but with plant-based ingredients, which is very difficult.”
Understanding Plant Proteins for Better Texture
To create a cheesy product with the same texture as the real thing, scientists need to study a variety of physical attributes such as the melting, stretching, and oil release upon grilling and heating.
“The behavior of milk proteins and meat proteins is reasonably well understood, but knowledge about the functionality of plant proteins is lacking,” Marangoni said. “There is also a huge variety of different plant proteins, each one very different from one another.”
Previous research concluded that a blend of 25% coconut oil, 75% sunflower oil, and pea protein created a desirable cheese texture. In this research, Marangoni and his team studied isolates from three proteins (lentil protein, faba bean protein, and a particular type of pea protein) and observed how the isolates interacted with the oil and with the starch matrix of the cheese alternative.
They found that increasing the coconut oil increased the hardness of cheeses, but cheese with pea protein and 25% coconut oil had the firmest texture due to their unique protein-fat interactions. This formulation matched or surpassed the melt, oil loss, and stretch of the cheese analogs made with 100% coconut oil.
Using a blend of sunflower and coconut oil decreased the saturated fat content of the cheese, creating a healthy and sustainable alternative to dairy cheeses and other plant-based cheeses.
“Ultimately we want to improve the nutrition, increase the protein content, and lower the saturated fat content of cheese alternatives,” Marangoni said. “But keeping all the functionality in there, which includes the melt and the stretch of the ‘cheese,’ is very difficult.”
Reference: “Impact of protein sources on the functionality of plant-based cheeses formulated with saturated and unsaturated fat” by Cameryn Sanders, Jarvis A. Stobbs, Stacie Dobson and Alejandro G. Marangoni, 14 January 2025, Physics of Fluids.
DOI: 10.1063/5.0238556
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4 Comments
I love plantbased cheese it saves a lot of animals including cows and the planet.
Yuck –That plant BASED MONSTROSITY is Metabolic Nightmare. Like all plant protein it lacks essential amino acids. NEVER EAT FOODS MADE IN CORPORATE FACTORIES!
Nowt laik a good Wensleydale.
“Plant-based dairy products” do not exist – if they are dairy, they come from a dairy, and are made from mammal milk, usually cow or goat milk.
I’ll be happy to see plant-based substitutes for cheese, milk, etc when they can match the nutritional profiles of dairy cheese, milk, etc. At this point, they can’t – among other things, the balance of omega 3 to omega 6 oils in butterfat, the K vitamins and other known and as-yet unknown nutritional benefits of butterfat, are missing from the plant oils used in these products. And the proteins are very different too – milk contains essential proteins we need but which are missing from pea or other plant proteins. So these are very different foods, not the same foods from different sources.
Sure, work on making plant-based tasty and nutritious foods – many of my own meals are vegetarian, and new tasty foods are always welcome. But don’t claim that they are actual replacements for dairy until you can match the health profiles of dairy as well as the functionality of dairy, too. At this point, claims to replicate dairy in plant-based foods are pure gaslighting.