3 ms·

Scientists are fixing the big fat problem with vegan cheese

• aziaziazi 2mo ago
  > Professor Euston and his colleagues are using a technique called oleogelation: special molecules called oleogelators are added to a liquid oil and they assemble into microscopic structures that trap the oil inside a 3D structure. The result is a gel that behaves like a solid fat.
• jfengel 2mo ago
  The team also tested the ‘meltability’ of the cheese and found that their version, made with vegetable oils, had superior meltability compared to several off-the-shelf coconut oil based cheeses. [...] “It won’t taste any better or worse than the current vegan cheese slices on the market, but it will be more heart healthy and greener.” That seems like a contradiction. Improved meltability would definitely tase better. It's possible that he's being precise about the word "taste", which technically just sweet/sour/salty/bitter/umami. But that's only a tiny part of the eating experience, which is colloquially also called "taste", which also includes smell and mouth-feel. If he has solved that, it's more important than either health or environmental safety. Anything that makes non-animal alternatives more appealing is going to help reduce the sense that vegetarianism is an all-or-nothing thing.