Navigating #plantbased food challenges: the potential of #lecithin unveiled

The demand for #plantbasedfoods is constantly increasing, particularly in the field of plant-based #dairyalternatives . There are a number of product developments, such as those based on grains or (coco)nuts, which constantly present developers with new tasks. The youngest company member of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe , Planteneers , is on a mission to empower the world with plant-based food solutions. And the youngest member of the Sternchemie team, Daniel Kandt (Technical Product Manager), is convinced that innovative lecithin products can play an important role in this endeavor.

Daniel, lecithin has been used for ages in bakery and chocolates. Why do you think it will also help overcome challenges in plant-based foods?

The current challenges in formulating plant-based foods may be big, but they are not new. Lecithin is already used today for a variety of functions, such as texture, emulsification, instantiation, and managing foaming properties. It stabilizes food and at the same time influences taste and mouthfeel.

So, can you simply add some lecithin and all problems are solved? Foolproof?

Of course it’s not that simple. For lecithin to show its capabilities, it must be tailored to both the process and the functionality requirements. Now, we see great potential in a powdered, hydrolyzed #sunflowerlecithin , which we call SternPur S DH 50 .

What makes this product so special?

Through the enzymatic treatment we increase the emulsifying properties and the functionality. And by removing the oil, we get an odorless and tasteless powdered lecithin that disperses readily in oil or water, so it has concentrated functionality and is very easy to use. When we started testing, we knew what to expect. Even so, the effects were much more far-reaching than we had hoped.

What surprised you?

As a former chef I know that even the smallest ingredient can have a big impact on the texture, mouthfeel, and taste of the final food. But what was surprising was that besides stabilizing emulsions and improving mouthfeel and taste, we saw a significant impact on proteins. SternPur S DH 50 protected the proteins in the formulation against heat and denaturation. This could have a tremendous positive impact on the shelf-life stability of the final product (texture stability, taste, etc.) while at the same time benefitting process management (anti-fouling effect). At present, customers of ours are doing plant-scale trials to assess the benefits during pasteurization.

Is SternPur the “all-in-one ingredient for every purpose”? Mission accomplished?

Certainly not. We’ve been trialing and failing… and trialing again. Working with #plantproteins you immediately realize that no two are alike. And even from the same botanical source, the properties and process requirements can vary considerably, not to mention the final food products you intend to produce. Our job is to adapt the specific lecithin solution to the respective process and functional requirements. And with the recently established #plantbasedcompetencecenter we have all the tools in hand to develop innovative, customized solutions for a wide variety of plant-based products.

Many thanks for your time and lecithin know-how, Daniel!