Construction of a Pea Protein-Based 3D Printable Meat Analog System and Mechanism Underlying Its Printing Quality

In order to construct a suitable pea protein-based 3D printable meat analog system, this study explored the effects and mechanism of the addition of pea dietary fiber, gluten, gellan gum and glutamine transaminase on the 3D printing performance and product quality of mixture systems using one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design methods. The results showed that the 3D printing performance, texture characteristics and product characteristics significantly changed depending on the concentration of each ingredient. Using the orthogonal array method, the optimal formulation that provided the best 3D printing performance was determined as 0.45%, 5:1, 0.4% and 1.2 U/g for pea dietary fiber concentration, ratio of pea protein to gluten, gellan gum concentration and glutamine transglutaminase dosage, respectively. After the optimization, the printing accuracy improved by 27.80%. The hardness of the printed sample after cooking was 3612.13 g, and the chewiness was 1540.27 g·mm. In addition, the texture characteristics were better than those of the unoptimized sample. The results of infrared spectroscopy and intermolecular force showed that the addition of the components significantly enhanced the hydrogen bond, disulfide bond and hydrophobic interaction in the system. Compared with three commercially available artificial meat samples, the optimized sample exhibited significant advantages in texture characteristics, cooking loss and water-holding capacity, which were related to the structure formed by 3D printing and the interaction among the components. This study provides theoretical guidance and a basis for the application of pea protein in 3D printed plant-based meat.