Hybrid cheese could dominate future food industry

The hybrid food market is emboldened, with milks, meats and cheeses available in supermarkets across the world.

And the category is showing strong opportunity for growth, with hybrid meat holding a global market value of $2.5bn (Future Market Insights), and hybrid dairy of $10.9m (Fact.MR).

So promising is the segment’s future that established brands like Kerry and St Paul are moving at pace into hybrid cheese arena.

And new brands, entirely dedicated to hybrid cheeses, are launching to market including Denmark’s PlanetDairy. Though the newcomer rejects the term hybrid in efforts to have a wider appeal.

“We’re trying to find the sweet spot where we can speak to traditional consumers [rather than] vegans and vegetarians,” says Jesper Colding, chair and commercial lead of PlanetDairy.

Why is hybrid so popular?

Many consumers are looking to cut their animal-based protein intake, as the omnivore, flexitarian and plant-based trends grow. However, the plant-based sector has struggled to match the animal-based industry on taste and texture, with plant-based cheeses proving particularly unsuccessful.

In fact, a report from the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) found that 73% of consumers want better plant-based cheese options. Hybrid cheese offers the perfect solution.

“You get the taste and texture of real cheese while also benefiting from the sustainability advantages of plant-based ingredients,” says a spokesperson for cheese brand, St Paul.

And while hybrid is not an option for vegans, who don’t consume any animal-based products, it could be the ideal alternative for those looking to cut down without cutting out. Plus, scientists are now looking to level-up the hybrid cheese game by making it ‘healthier’.

Plant-based cheesemakers have struggled to replicate the taste and texture of animal-based cheeses. (Image: Getty/CentralITAlliance)

Making hybrid cheese healthier

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have developed a hybrid cheese made from a combination of milk and plant proteins, to create a ‘healthy’ hybrid cheese, without losing the texture and flavour of dairy cheese.

“It’s really difficult to create a texture that matches regular cheese if you only use plant proteins,” says Professor Lilia Ahrné from the Department of Food Science.

Professor Ahrné and her team successfully developed a recipe for a hybrid cheese, similar to paneer, a style of cheese that doesn’t melt when baked or fried, making it the perfect cooking cheese.

“Because of paneer’s properties – that allow it to be both grilled and baked without melting – it has been a popular meat alternative in India for many years, where there are many vegans and vegetarians. That’s why we see this type of cooking cheese as a potential meat substitute in the West, where we enjoy grilling and frying our food,” says Professor Ahrné.

Cheeses such as paneer, halloumi and feta are a popular alternative to meat in vegetarian cooking. (ajaykampani/Image: Getty/ajaykampani)

Their hybrid paneer consists of casein and pea protein.

“We’ve investigated what happens to a cheese’s texture as we add more pea protein,” says Wenjie Xia, first author on the study. “How much can we add before it falls apart or loses its original paneer shape? Our experiments show that at least 25% of the milk proteins can be replaced with pea protein while still producing a cheese with a texture, shape, and taste similar to the original product.”

In their experiments, the researchers applied higher pressure than usual to the hybrid cheese, as pea proteins retain more water than milk proteins. This increased pressure helped the cheese maintain a solid shape despite its relatively high plant-based content.

The team is also confident that hybrid cheeses, containing natural plant proteins, offer nutritional advantages over dairy and plant-based cheeses.

“While dairy ingredients contribute with better protein quality (essential amino acids) and calcium, plant ingredients can bring dietary fibers to the product,” says Professor Ahrné. So nutritionally, hybrid cheese has the potential to bring together qualities from both worlds.”

The researchers emphasise that, despite the promising start, further studies are required to refine the taste and texture before the cheese goes into production.

Sustainable hybrid cheese

As well as being healthier the team is highlights the eco-friendly advantages of hybrid cheeses.

“Hybrid cheeses like this are a solid step towards more sustainable dairy products,” says Wenjie Xia. “We demonstrate that it is possible to replace a significant portion of the milk in cheese with plant protein.”

The researchers plan to conduct future studies with the aim of further reducing the milk content.

Source: Towards hybrid protein foods: Heat- and acid-induced hybrid gels formed from micellar casein and pea protein

Published online: 17 November 2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115326

Authors: Wenjie Xia, Ilianna Drositi, Tomasz Pawel Czaja, Matias Via, Lilia Ahrné

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