Versatile ingredients from rapeseeds for structuring plant-based soft materials

Summary

In the current protein-transition in foods, different plants are explored as potential sources of plant-based food ingredients. From the different available plants, oilseeds are a promising source of ingredients, as they contain high amounts of proteins and lipids, important food ingredients. However, due to the current oilseed valorization process, in which the lipids are first extracted and refined from the seeds using multiple and intense processing steps, the protein structure and functionality are negatively affected. Therefore, oilseed proteins are currently used only for feed applications. The findings of this thesis show that when less processing steps are applied in the oilseed valorization process, and lipids and proteins are extracted together, results to less refined but highly functional lipid- and protein-rich ingredients, that can be used in food applications. These findings pave the path to explore the potential of oilseeds as sustainable sources of functional ingredients for foods.