Development of technology for plant-based minced semi-finished products

A healthy diet is the key to longevity, increasing the body's resistance to adverse environmental influences, and is a prerequisite for quality of life. One of the problems that humanity must solve today is the search for non-traditional protein sources and their popularisation in the food market as a healthy alternative to meat protein, which is the most popular. Nowadays, vegetarianism is the most widespread system of health-improving nutrition. According to this system, meat products (pork, beef) are replaced from the daily diet and other sources of amino acids take their place. The relevance of the study is related to the need to develop minced semi-finished products suited for consumption by a wide range of consumers, including those who adhere to vegetarian and vegan diets. The main goal of the study was to achieve the nutritional value of the protein component of minced meat compared to beef-based minced meat. The following research methods were used to solve these tasks: the organoleptic assessment considered: appearance, colour, cutaway view, smell, taste; moisture content – by drying the sample to a constant weight; fat content – by Soxhlet method; protein content – by Kjeldahl method; amino acid composition – by liquid chromatography, fatty acid composition – by gas-liquid chromatography. The main ingredient with protein content in minced meat is protein-wheat texture, which contains a balanced set of amino acids. The study of the amino acid composition of meatless minced semi-finished products has shown that this product is a valuable source of all essential amino acids. Cutlets are characterized by a significant content of valine, methionine, and phenylalanine. The finished product meets the requirements of the current regulatory documentation and does not pose a microbiological danger to the consumer. Therefore, the development of a new semi-finished product technology, which is a meatless minced meat composition that meets the requirements of a healthy diet in terms of protein and fat composition, is one of the ways to solve the problem of introducing food products recommended for vegetarians