Fried green burgers: a promising food for plant-based dieters. Ingredient characterization, processing, and future development

TL;DR

This review explores fried green burgers, made from legumes, as a plant-based alternative to meat, focusing on their ingredients, frying process, and health implications.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the nutritional, processing, and health aspects of fried green burgers.

Findings

Legumes are the primary ingredient in fried green burgers, offering nutritional benefits but also anti-nutritional factors.

Deep-fat frying affects flavor, nutritional value, and can produce harmful compounds.

Future developments aim to improve frying techniques to enhance quality and reduce health risks.

Abstract

Currently, the world witnesses a growing interest toward conversion to a plant-based diet due to some behavioral or nutritional reasons. The fried green burger (FGB), which is globally known as “falafel” is an example of a flourishing plant-based burger in which meat is substituted with one of the legume seeds (which is not an oilseed) and processed by deep-fat frying. This plant-based food originated in the Middle East and some Asian regions many years ago, then spread to the Western world in the 20th century due to increased immigration. Made entirely from plants, FGB’s appealing taste and relatively low price make it a potentially attractive meal option for dieters. In this review, the authors will discuss fundamental elements pertaining to the FGB. This includes the various types of plant ingredients employed in processing, along with their nutritional, anti-nutritional, and sensorial characteristics. The review examines various processing steps, including deep-fat frying. It discusses the challenges of the frying process, such as oil uptake and the generation of hazardous compounds that develop during this process. Additionally, it reviews developments aimed at improving the quality of (FGB) during frying.

Plant-based fried green burger.

Legumes as a main element for making fried green burger.

Nutritional and anti-nutritional characteristics of legumes.

The frying process and its effect on flavor, nutritional value and health.

Future development in the frying process to mitigate drawbacks.

Figures