Pea Protein Hybrid Cheese Revitalizes Plant-Based Food Innovation

A recent study in “Food Research International” introduces an innovative approach to plant-based foods: a hybrid cheese containing 25% pea protein that closely mimics the flavor and texture of paneer, a traditional Indian cheese. This breakthrough offers a novel solution to the long-standing challenge of creating dairy-free cheeses that match conventional products in taste and mouthfeel. Unlike most plant-based cheese substitutes that rely entirely on plant ingredients, this research pioneers a "hybrid cheese" model by integrating milk proteins with plant proteins. This cross-disciplinary approach is rare in academic circles and aims to balance flavor preservation with environmental sustainability—reducing the climate and land-use impacts of traditional cheese production by minimizing dairy dependence. Using paneer—a cheese that maintains structural stability when heated, unlike meltable varieties—as a model, the team designed three protein-blend experiments: 75%...