Recently, the United States-based food company Renewal Mill, specializing in food reengineering, has completed its Series A financing. Since its establishment in 2016, the company has been dedicated to using “okara” as a substitute for traditional flour in the production of desserts and pastries.
Renewal Mill collects by-products of the production of products such as soy milk and oat milk, known as “okara.” This by-product is then processed through dehydration, drying, and grinding into a powder. The powder has a light brown color and, compared to traditional baking flour and whole wheat flour, has approximately four times higher dietary fiber.
The concept of “alternative flour” is not new, as refined flour may lead to issues such as gluten sensitivity, increased blood sugar load, and obesity. Many consumers face a difficult choice between health and indulgence, prompting food manufacturers to continuously explore new alternative flour sources in the quest to find a healthy “meal replacement” that eliminates “carbophobia.”
Criteria for Choosing Alternative Ingredients: Low GI, Gluten-Free
As the people dietary structure transitions from “filling the stomach” to “nutritional balance,” topics such as gluten intolerance and the rational intake of carbohydrates have gained increasing attention.
On one hand, the world has a large and growing population of diabetes and obesity patients. Recommends the moderate consumption of whole grains for the nation. This recommendation is primarily due to the lower glycemic index (GI) of these foods compared to refined and milled white flour after removing wheat bran. Foods with lower GI are less likely to cause issues such as high blood sugar, obesity, and follicle blockage.
Additionally, proteins like gluten in crops such as wheat, barley, and rye can, after entering the human gastrointestinal tract, form “peptides” due to incomplete breakdown, triggering an immune response in the body—a phenomenon commonly known as “gluten sensitivity.”
Strictly speaking, gluten sensitivity can be specifically divided into three types: “celiac disease, non-celiac wheat sensitivity, and wheat allergy.” Celiac disease refers to a chronic reaction in the body to a specific protein chain found in grains, leading to poor nutrient absorption. Wheat allergy is a major cause of food allergy-induced anaphylaxis.
Based on these two aspects, low GI and gluten-free have become the two major dimensions for measuring alternative flour ingredients: foods with GI ≤ 55 are considered “low-GI foods,” and foods with gluten content ≤ 20 mg/kg can be labeled as “gluten-free foods.”
N Various New Directions for “Alternative Flour”
Currently, the application of alternative flours is most mature in the baking and meal replacement markets. Taking whole grain foods as an example, the global market for whole grain foods has exceeded $20 billion, and China’s cereal market reached 42.11 billion yuan in 2021.
However, using only gluten-free flour for baking often results in a product with a somewhat hard texture. Therefore, a mainstream approach involves using a combination of alternative and traditional flours.
Common traditional alternative ingredients include buckwheat flour, corn flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, cassava flour, and others. As research progresses and the market develops, more alternative ingredients are being explored and applied.
Oat Flour
Oats belong to the grass family and are annual herbaceous plants. Currently, over 4,000 species of oats have been discovered globally. Oats are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, with 80% of their fat content being unsaturated, which has certain effects on reducing cholesterol and regulating blood sugar.
Oat flour is typically ground from oats, but Renewal Mill has introduced “Oat Milk Flour,” made from the nutritious oat slurry remaining in the production of oat milk. This flour is high in protein, high in fiber, and gluten-free.
As a baking ingredient, this product not only retains the nutritional value of oats and increases viscosity but also contributes to food waste reduction by recycling surplus food.
Renewal Mill pioneers alternative flour using okara, offering gluten-free, nutrient-rich options. With a focus on health and sustainability, it’s reshaping the future of baking. Explore the low GI and gluten-free trends shaping the industry for a healthier, tastier tomorrow.
