Construction of 3D printed salmon fillet simulants: improving printing performance by blending corn starch and flaxseed oil with pea protein and post-printing texturization via transglutaminase

Plant-based fish analogues have been proposed as a sustainable solution to address the inefficiencies and environmental challenges of traditional aquaculture. In this study, structurally stable salmon fillet simulants were constructed using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology coupled with transglutaminase (TGase) post-treatment. The myomere bioinks containing corn starch, flaxseed oil, and pea protein were optimised for the construction of structurally stable simulants. The flaxseed oil and pea protein myosepta bioinks were then injected into the 3D printed myomere analogues according to the macronutrients of real salmon fillets. The rheological properties of the myomere and myosepta bioinks, as well as the microstructure and chemical composition of the myomere and myosepta analogues, were systematically characterized. TGase was added to both myomere and myosepta simulants for paste-solid transformation. The printed raw salmon fillet simulants were microwaved to obtain cooked salmon fillet simulants. Moreover, the textural properties of the raw and cooked salmon fillet simulants were investigated. The prepared salmon fillet simulants exhibited fish muscle-like fibre structures in myomere analogues and good similarity to real salmon meat, demonstrating the great potential in simulating better fish meat texture.