Vegan Chicken Nuggets to Become More “Meat-Like”

German ingredient supplier Hydrosol developed vegan stabilizing system HydroTop High Gel (HHG) to aid producers of meat alternatives to achieve a better texture in their products. The system involves heating the company’s proprietary gel with oil and water to create an emulsion that forms a meat analogue when combined with plant-based ingredients. HHG works well in texturizing foods such as corn and peas into meat replacements, and is suitable for creating products such as vegan burger patties, breaded schnitzel, and chicken nuggets without the necessity of using gluten or soy. According to Marie-Kristin von der Heide—Junior Marketing Manager at Hydrosol’s parent company Stern-Wywiol Gruppe—the company is working on future products that will be “closer to meat and fish than ever before.” Hydrosol develops products for use in the meat and dairy industry, but chose to focus on the plant-based sector due to the exponential growth of vegan products in the Germany—where one in 10 new products introduced in 2015 displayed a vegan label.