26 Oct 2020 A new plant-based alternative to cow’s milk

During a recent virtual press conference, Impossible Foods gave the world the first look at its new plant-based cow’s milk alternative that will have culinary properties close to or identical with cow’s milk, rather than simply being a standard nut or soy milk.

It hasn’t yet been dubbed with a catchy marketing name. Although you can probably safely assume that Impossible Milk is an option being considered.

Like the company’s flagship Impossible Burgers, Impossible Foods’ new milk alternative is made with stable proteins sourced from plants.

The idea is that it not only properly mixes with other liquids (like hot coffee) without forming precipitates that can alter the texture and drinking experience, but that it can also be whipped into a foam and used as an ingredient in other food products without having to modify a recipe as is often required with other substitutes.

As with Impossible Foods’ meat products, the goal of the milk alternative is to preserve the experience of consuming dairy products, including the texture, mouth feel, and flavour, while reducing the demand for raising animals like cattle.

There are lots of consumers who prefer those alternatives over cow’s milk. Impossible Foods’ goal is to create an alternative for those who want to leave cow milk behind, but not the experience of consuming it.

The company hasn’t given a timeline on when its milk substitute will be ready to leave its R&D labs, but it helps demonstrate that Impossible Foods has managed to successfully parlay its research into more than just replacements for ground meats.

More importantly, it will allow the company to finally give the world a complete plant-based cheeseburger!

In a comment to The Food Institute, the National Milk Producers Federation said the move “could cause some concerns for people who are currently grinding up almonds, soy, or oats or whatever else they can mix with sugar water and artificial colouring so they can sell it for twice the price of real milk,” rather than strongly threatening dairy producers.

Impossible Foods also announced it is doubling the size of its R&D department, with the goal of helping “eliminate animal agriculture”.

Impossible Foods is also reportedly working on the development of a “crackable egg” made out of plant materials, unlike the pourable vegan eggs currently made from flavoured canola oil or similar ingredients.

Source: www.gizmodo.com