Designer plant burgers - use of targeted biochemistry and chemistry to generate flavour (taste and aroma) during extrusion of plant protein

这是一个令人兴奋的机会，可以在工程和风味科学的界面上工作，开发和改善植物性肉制品的味道，为弹性素食者和素食者提供美味和可持续的替代品。跨学科的监督团队由来自各自专业中心的学者组成（布鲁内尔大学的沃尔夫森可持续材料开发和加工中心和雷丁大学的风味中心），并得到联合利华的支持。虽然肉类消费量在过去十年中下降了17%，但最近的国家粮食战略建议到2032年进一步下降30%，以实现对健康、气候和环境的承诺。为了实现这些目标，开发可持续的营养和美味的非肉类蛋白质替代品至关重要，并且主要由弹性素食消费者推动的肉类仿制品市场已经发展起来。然而，对于生产日常使用的可负担得起的植物性蛋白质替代品的行业来说，实现在整个饮食体验中持续存在的可靠和可持续的肉味仍然是一个挑战。豌豆分离蛋白的氨基酸分布（约70%的蛋白质）符合世界卫生组织/粮农组织/联合国大学推荐的营养要求，是肉类蛋白质的可持续和营养均衡的替代品。这个为期4年的博士研究生项目涉及利用挤压技术开发一种可持续的、营养丰富的、美味的、新鲜持久的肉味汉堡。将研究许多不同的酶和不同的挤压工艺条件，以产生所需的味道，香气和质地。化学、营养和感官分析将在两所大学的实验室进行。

A This is an exciting opportunity to work at the interface of engineering and flavour science to develop and improve the taste of plant-based meat products, providing tasty and sustainable alternatives for flexitarian and vegetarian consumers. The interdisciplinary supervisory team comprises academics from their respective centres of expertise (Wolfson Centre for Sustainable Materials Development and Processing at Brunel and The Flavour Centre at the University of Reading) and is supported by Unilever.Although meat consumption has decreased by 17% over the last decade, the recent National Food Strategy recommends a further drop in 30% by 2032 to meet health, climate and environmental commitments. In order to achieve these targets, the development of sustainable nutritious and tasty non-meat-based alternatives to proteins is essential, and a market for meat mimics driven mostly by flexitarian consumers has evolved. However, achieving a credible and sustainable meaty flavour that persists throughout the whole eating experience is still a challenge for industries producing affordable plant-based protein alternatives for every-day use. The amino acid profile of pea protein isolate (~70% protein) meets the nutritional requirements as recommended by the WHO/FAO/UNU, providing a sustainable and nutritionally balanced alternative to meat protein.This 4-year PhD studentship involves development of a sustainable, nutritious tasty burger with fresh long-lasting meaty aroma using extrusion technology. A number of different enzymes and different extrusion process conditions will be investigated to generate the required taste, aroma and texture. Chemical, nutritional and sensorial analyses will be carried out using laboratories at both Universities.