peas
The new superfood?
© Marian Weyo / Shutterstock
The small green legumes have long been underestimated: Now they are even replacing soy & Co. as a meat substitute.
The fact that tofu burgers and soy sausages sizzle on the grill next to the beef steaks at every barbecue is something that the meat fans have long got used to with a mild smile. But the established vegetable grilled food based on soybeans has recently faced unexpected competition: Pea protein is the new hype on the hotly contested meat substitute market. Whether schnitzel, nuggets or meatballs: Various food companies already offer vegetarian or vegan products based on pea proteins. In addition to oat or rice drinks, you can now also pour pea milk into your coffee or muesli as a vegan alternative to cow’s milk.
Versatile and almost allergen-free
There are several reasons why the sweet-tasting legumes are having such a steep career right now and why soy could soon overtake soy in terms of popularity. “The biggest difference between pea and soy protein lies in the taste of the finished protein powder. Pea protein tastes much more neutral, so you can use flavors and spices to turn it into food products that should appear as meat-like as possible, “explains nutritionist Christian Dieckmann, who develops products in the food sector and advises food start-ups.
But what is almost more important is that pea proteins have hardly any allergenic potential. “Allergies or cross-allergies are quite common in relation to soy”, says the expert. “You can reach a much broader group of customers if you use almost allergy-free pea proteins.” Incidentally, this also makes production easier: unlike in the production of soy food, machines do not have to be laboriously cleaned afterwards in order to avoid the transfer of allergens to other products.
Strong in combination with other protein sources
As is so often the case with food trends, the great interest in pea protein originally comes from the fitness scene. Vegan sports enthusiasts have been using pea-based protein powder for a long time, because this provides the body with high-quality amino acids, i.e. protein building blocks, for building muscle, but hardly any fats and carbohydrates. The protein content of the powder, mostly made from yellow split peas, is up to 80 percent.
The problem with vegetable proteins: the body cannot use them as well as animal proteins. “In order to maintain a balanced amino acid profile and make the proteins more usable for the body, it makes sense to combine vegetable proteins of different origins,” advises Christian Dieckmann. For example, peas are low in methionine, an amino acid that helps maintain muscle. But you can compensate for this by combining rice, almond or hemp proteins on the menu. Also important to know: Certain phytochemicals in legumes such as peas, beans and lentils, so-called phytates, can inhibit the absorption of calcium or iron. “For this reason, pea drinks, for example, are often fortified with minerals and trace elements. We will probably find this trend again in the future in meat substitute products,” assumes Dieckmann.
The ecological balance is better
Anyone looking for meat substitutes usually does so in order to find more sustainable alternatives. According to a study by the Federal Environment Agency, vegetarian sausages and meatballs will play an increasingly important role in the future, as awareness of environmentally friendly food production continues to grow. Plant-based pseudo meat therefore performs significantly better in production than real meat, Compared to cattle breeding, for example, only around a tenth of the greenhouse gases are emitted when growing soy, wheat or peas, and water consumption and land requirements are many times lower.
The pea has an advantage over the competing plant soy: “Many people now associate soy cultivation with the land-intensive agriculture in South America and the associated rainforest deforestation and environmental destruction, as well as the high water consumption,” says Christian Dieckmann – although soy for food production is increasingly coming from Europe. “Because peas are still relatively new on the meat substitute market, they don’t have a comparable image problem. Nevertheless, they cannot be certified with a perfect eco-balance across the board.”
This is good for peas, but there is still room for improvement. Because although the pulses are considered a domestic product, a large part of the pea proteins are currently still cheap from abroad, mainly from Canada, the USA or China, which of course does not keep the carbon footprint small. However, if you only consider the growing conditions, regardless of the origin, pea plants are doing quite well in terms of environmental compatibility: They also thrive in cooler climates and require less water than soybeans, for example. Like lentils and beans, they are also good for the soil and store nitrogen in it.
And with increasing demand, the cultivation in Central and Southern Europe, for example in Austria or Hungary, be promoted. A number of domestic companies are currently investing in plants for producing protein from peas. “It will certainly be a few years before regional pea protein becomes available in larger quantities,” the expert predicts.