Thermal Rheology and Fibrous Structure of High-Moisture Meat Analogs with Hemp Seed Cake

Abstract

The utilization of protein-rich agricultural by-products offers a sustainable strategy for developing plant-based meat analogs. This study investigated the effects of cold-pressed hemp seed cake (HSC) incorporation at levels of 0–20% on the pasting, thermal–rheological, textural, and structural properties of high-moisture meat analogs produced by extrusion. Increasing HSC incorporation significantly reduced peak viscosity, indicating altered starch–protein–fiber interactions within the blends. During temperature-sweep measurements, all formulations exhibited elastic-dominant behavior, with the storage modulus remaining higher than the loss modulus throughout heating and cooling. Although the initial viscoelastic moduli decreased with increasing HSC content, the final moduli after cooling were comparable to those of the control. Incorporation of 15% and 20% HSC significantly decreased hardness from 44.02 to 38.88 N and chewiness from 1730.20 to 1517.31 g, whereas springiness, cohesiveness, and the hardness degradation ratio remained largely unchanged. Fibrous structures were maintained in all formulations, while cutting strength tended to increase and the texturization degree numerically increased from 1.04 to 1.15 at 20% HSC. These findings demonstrate that HSC can replace up to 20% of the conventional protein–starch blend while maintaining thermal viscoelasticity and anisotropic fibrous structure, although producing a moderately softer high-moisture meat analog.