Comparison of Binding Properties of a Laccase-Treated Pea Protein–Sugar Beet Pectin Mixture with Methylcellulose in a Bacon-Type Meat Analogue

A bacon-type meat analogue consists of different structural layers, such as textured protein and a fat mimetic. To obtain a coherent and appealing product, a suitable binder must glue those elements together. A mixture based on pea protein and sugar beet pectin (r = 2:1, 25% w/w solids, pH 6) with and without laccase addition and a methylcellulose hydrogel (6% w/w) serving as benchmark were applied as binder between textured protein and a fat mimetic. A tensile strength test, during which the layers were torn apart, was performed to measure the binding ability. The pea protein–sugar beet pectin mixture without laccase was viscoelastic and had medium and low binding strength at 25 °C (F ≤ 3.5 N) and 70 °C (F ≈ 1.0 N), respectively. The addition of laccase solidified the mixture and increased binding strength at 25 °C (F ≥ 4.0 N) and 70 °C (F ≈ 2.0 N), due to covalent bonds within the binder and between the binder and the textured protein or the fat mimetic layers. Generally, the binding strength was higher when two textured protein layers were glued together. The binding properties of methylcellulose hydrogel was low (F ≤ 2.0 N), except when two fat mimetic layers were bound due to hydrophobic interactions becoming dominant. The investigated mixed pectin–pea protein system is able serve as a clean-label binder in bacon-type meat analogues, and the application in other products seems promising.