Designing plant-based analogues of animal-derived foods: a review of research ranging from manufacturing to oral processing

Plant-based foods are ubiquitous and ancient. But if we disregard high-starch ingredients (rice, etc.) and soy-based foods then we find fewer consumer products. In a world focused on sustainability there is a growing list of companies designing plant protein-based ‘analogues’ of meat or dairy products (e.g. nut-based yogurts, cheeses, vegan hamburgers). These analogues suffer a common problem, however: be it the marbling of fat in steak or the stretch of cheese, plant-based foods lack some key textural attributes. Overcoming this deficiency will require crafting rational design rules based on structure–function relationships. This current opinion will cover the manufacturing and oral processing of plant-based foods and ingredients with the aim of initiating the conversation around how the fields might better integrate these different disciplines and, ultimately, build design rules.