TOP BV develops plant-based braised meat

TOP BV has succeeded in developing a fully vegan version of braised meat. With some minimal modifications, the technology is also suitable for producing vegan boeuf bourguignon and rendang.

"When we started this project, we initially envisaged applications in the snack sector," explains product developer Justus Veenemans of TOP BV. "We wanted to develop a vegan substitute for sour meat for them. A tasty product, long-life, canned and easy to reheat in a microwave oven."

The project, completed in 2022, built on knowledge already present at TOP. One challenge in the development was the need for intense heat treatment of the vegetable starting material, which, while sterilising the product and providing it with significant shelf life, came at the expense of texture. The solution ultimately lay in a specific combination of plant ingredients that could withstand the enormous heat load. "That combination is secret," says the product developer.

"Once we found that solution, we discovered that with this technology we could not only make sour meat for snack bars, but also vegan and ready-to-eat equivalents of traditional stew meat, Indonesian rendang, goulash and boeuf bourguignon. The possibilities are endless."

The starting material of the vegan braised meat is a combination of plant-based proteins and, of course, plant-based texturants as well.

Top-bv.nl