INGREDIENT ISSUES ENSURING Processors use ingredients to keep formed meats and meat alternatives juicy BY DONNA BERRY | meatpoult r y@sosland.com Longer holding times for to-go foodservice items has become more common which makes moisturefriendly formulations a priority for food companies. M arinading and basting are techniques that help keep whole muscle proteins moist and juicy when broiled, grilled or oven baked. With ground and formed proteins - the real deal and plant-based alternatives - there are a range of ingredients that may be added to the blend to ensure succulence until consumption. Some ingredients absorb moisture, keeping it in the matrix. Others manipulate protein structures to better bind water. And some ingredients, 56 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.22 | www.meatpoultry.com namely fats, contribute lubricity, which provides juiciness. The uprise in foodservice pickup and delivery during the pandemic, which was accompanied by longer warming times, amplified the need to formulate succulence into center-of-plate proteins. It will also once again become a concern with the return of hot bars and buffets, where proteins are heated for great lengths of time and may succumb to drying out. Beneo e s c u c e c u l nhttp://www.meatpoultry.com