Textured vegetable protein

Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender. It is quick to cook, with a protein content far greater than that which comes from meat.

Textured vegetable protein was invented by the agricultural commodities and food processing company Archer Daniels Midland in the 1960s; the company owns the TVP name as a registered trademark. Archer Daniels Midland had developed a textured soy protein isolate made with an extruder in the shape of rods or tubes. The soy protein isolate was produced in a small pilot plant and sold to one or two customers for use in chili, but the product was not commercially successful. In September 1965, Dwayne O. Andreas and his brother Lowell took over leadership of Archer Daniels Midland. The brothers possessed extensive experience in the soybean processing industry. Dwayne Andreas was greatly impressed with TVP and its potential. Although, at the time, TVP was being produced only in the company's laboratories, Andreas could envision a host of potential uses for TVP, ranging from a meat extender to a low-cost protein source in a wide variety of foods. Under Andreas's leadership, TVP use expanded in the U.S.; by 1968, it was widely used in a variety of food products, and consumption skyrocketed after 1971, when TVP was approved for use in school lunch programs. By 1980, similar products were being produced by rival companies in America, but Archer Daniels Midland remained the leader in TVP production.

TVP is usually made from high (50%) soy protein soy flour or concentrate, but can also be made from cotton seeds, wheat, and oats. It is extruded into various shapes (chunks, flakes, nuggets, grains, and strips) and sizes, exiting the nozzle while still hot and expanding as it does so. The defatted thermoplastic proteins are heated to 150–200°C, which denatures them into a fibrous, insoluble, porous network that can soak up as much as three times its weight in liquids. As the pressurized molten protein mixture exits the extruder, the sudden drop in pressure causes rapid expansion into a puffy solid that is then dried. As much as 50% protein when dry, TVP can be rehydrated at a 2:1 ratio, which drops the percentage of protein to an approximation of ground meat at 16%. TVP is primarily used as a meat substitute due to its very low cost at less than a third the price of ground beef, and when cooked together will help retain more weight from the meat by absorbing juices normally lost.

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