Meat&Poultry - August 2012 - 58

Ingredient Solutions

STICKING together
Binders enable development of trendy meats
BY DONNA BERRY
meatpoultry@sosland.com

inders allow processors to manipulate various cuts of meat
Photo courtesy of mcdonalds.com

into affordable, delicious and innovative protein options. According to “What’s in Store 2012,” the annual trends publication of the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, Madison, Wis., 82 percent of consumers enjoy visiting supermarket delis that feature newer and trendier items, including meats such as chorizo, kielbasa and salami. These comminuted sausages rely on binders to hold the ground meat and seasonings together in one cohesive mass. Indeed, sandwiches aren’t just an important part of the American diet; they are essential to it, according to “Sandwiches: Culinary Trend new t wists on old stand-bys. In many cases, they want their foods to reflect their heritage and international experiences…,” says the center’s CEO, Kimberly Egan. The same is true for chicken, which is a versatile protein that can be used in the creation of all types of meat products, ranging from sandwich slices to entrée medallions to finger foods. Chicken fi ngers are the top poultry dish and have shown a 10 percent increase on menus from the fi rst quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2012. The trend of chicken

fines as substances that may be added to foods to thicken or improve texture. Unlike fillers and extenders, which are used to lower the cost of meat products by “extending” the meat component, binders are not intended to contribute volume to the meat, rather their goal is to improve the meat’s consistency and mouthfeel. To accomplish this, most binders function by absorbing water, which improves product yield and thus lowers protein costs. There are all types of binders available to meat processors. Some are based on proteins, with common ingredients being soy isolate, wheat gluten, milk caseinate, gelatin and eggs. Usage levels tend to be low, around 2 percent, which is why they are not considered extenders or fi llers. Yet, their highly functional protein content is instrumental in binding water and restructuring the total protein matrix, which improves the meat’s eating qualities. E n z y me s , wh ich a r e a t y pe of protein, were defended by the A merican Meat Institute earlier this year as not being “meat glue.” The two enzymes scrutinized — transglutaminase (TG) and beef fibrin — have long been used as binders in

Binders are not intended to contribute volume to the meat, rather their goal is to improve the meat’s consistency and mouthfeel.
Mapping Report” from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD), San Francisco, and market research publisher Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md. “Adventurous Gen Y, nostalgic Gen X and health-minded Boomers are all implicated in this dynamic sandwich renaissance. They crave wel l-made basics, classics a nd nostalgics, but also new flavors and snacks is also taking menus by storm. From McDonald’s Chicken McBites to Whataburger’s Whatachick’n Bites and White Castle’s Chicken Rings, snack-sized formed chicken pieces are a booming business.

Understanding binders
Most of these proteins rely on binders, which the US Dept. of Agriculture de-

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Meat&Poultry - August 2012

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