Indian innovator leverages chickpea flour to formulate vegan egg substitute for bakery

28 Mar 2024 --- Indian food ingredient company Supplant Foods has received a patent for its novel chickpea processing technology that formulates chickpea flour with enhanced protein functionality using precision fermentation techniques. The ingredient is marketed as an egg and dairy replacer in baked foods, developed by altering chickpea flour to function like egg proteins.

The process removes compounds responsible for off or nutty flavors while de-flavoring and de-coloring the flour for applications in vegan and gluten-free baking and alternative dairy and meats.

“We use proprietary precision techniques to identify and remove those natural components in our raw materials (in this case chickpea) that inhibit protein function (emulsions, foams and gels) and those that impart flavor,” Chirag Sabunani, founder of Supplant Foods, tells Food Ingredients First.

“We also work extensively on the supply side of the raw material, controlling aspects of the upstream processing and cultivation of the chickpea itself to achieve the functionality and flavor reduction that gets us to the levels replacing dairy and egg proteins.”

The method "tunes" the protein levels in chickpea flour to have a much higher function and protein levels similar to something that has more protein in there, he adds.

Maximizing chickpea potential
Proteins isolated from chickpeas are “fantastic and functional” in food applications, underscores Sabunani.

A cake and cupcakes made using chickpea protein. The vegan egg replacement can be used in cakes and cupcakes for structural strength and volume (Image credit: Supplant Foods).“However, it is too expensive, especially in emerging markets such as India and China.”

“By maximizing the potential of the chickpea proteins, which is part of our intellectual property (IP) and working with the rest of the components in the chickpea to maximize their relevance for food applications, we are now able to substitute eggs and dairy in various food items, particularly bakery where a lot of eggs and dairy are used.”

Pune-based Supplant Foods uses a proprietary extraction process that allows it to achieve a “cleaner color, flavor and better function” in the product, opening up varied applications, both as a chickpea flour and an egg and dairy substitute.

Natural foaming and emulsion
Egg and dairy proteins are key ingredients in bakery products due to a combination of foaming, emulsion and gelling, with each protein allowing different amounts of these functions.

Chickpeas in a glass bowl next to a bread wrapped in a cloth. Proteins extracted from chickpeas are highly functional in food applications, but expensive.Supplant’s chickpea proteins provide an alternative to these proteins due to their “favorable starch gelling and natural foaming and emulsion properties,” details Sabunani, adding that the process has modified chickpea flour gelling properties to match that of wheat starch.

The company has created four different egg replacement blends depending on what formulators want to replace eggs in, such as cakes, muffins, cupcakes and cookies.

Manufacturers can utilize the blends in formulations by reconstituting them with water, similar to egg powder for a bakery formula.

Sabunani further points to the cost-effectiveness of Supplant Foods’ functional ingredients.

“We have now developed some egg replacement blends that feature our chickpea as the functional egg replacer and these can replace eggs at as low as US$0.03 per egg,” he states.

Five pieces of peanut butter swiss rolls kept on a mat. Peanut butter Swiss rolls made using the company’s chickpea flour as an egg replacer (Image credit: Supplant Foods).“In addition to the substantial cost savings, this solution also offers stable prices, a consistent supply chain, no risk of avian flu or Salmonella risk, and no specialized handling while being good for the environment.”

Since chickpeas can fix soil nitrogen, they benefit the soil and the environment, which was also a driver for the company to select chickpeas to work with, Sabunani reveals.

Beyond bakery
By mimicking the functionality of egg and dairy proteins, the company currently focuses on bakery items and works with chefs worldwide, such as in the US.

Sabunani flags that the F&B industry needs affordability, taste and nutrition, which the company offers, along with the “functionality needed to make modern food items.”

He also believes the bakery industry is “always looking for ways to reduce or eliminate eggs and dairy” because of the cost, price fluctuations and periodic contamination issues such as Salmonella. This makes Supplant’s chickpea-based egg replacer a potential ingredient for the sector.

Penne pasta dish on a white plate kept on a red and white cloth with red sauce next to it in a small white bowl. Looking ahead, Sabunani envisions the protein's applications in healthy snacks and pasta.In the future, he envisions their chickpea protein’s applications in applications beyond bakery products. These include “healthy snacks and pasta, which pack protein, resistant starch in a vegetarian snack by itself.”

Sabunani adds that the team combined its vision of a sustainable ingredient with theoretical science to select the raw material and through a series of research, theory validation and invalidation, finally arrived at the product.

“Along the way, we have developed a lot of additional IP that is now useful for us as a business in the context of new innovations or applying our technology to other crops as well,” he concludes.

Meanwhile, the F&B industry is also tapping into chickpea protein as an ingredient in plant-based meat to enhance its protein content and impart texture and juiciness.

By Insha Naureen