Gary Reineccius

My research efforts have focused upon my strong interest in engineering and analytical chemistry. While I majored in Dairy Science for my BS, I completed all but one course for a double major in mechanical engineering (a course in mechanical drawing). I have combined these two areas to address issues related to the manufacturer and an analysis of food flavor. 

If we go back far enough, my interest in food as a research area comes from my Ag teacher in high school. Everyone has a person in their life that influenced him/her in one way or another.  My Ag teacher made it clear that food is important and would always be a relevant area to study. He also made it clear that I was going to College – preferably the University of Minnesota. As noted, my major was dairy science with an emphasis in engineering (I liked math – and the logic of physical sciences). My interest in flavor specifically comes from the opportunities available to me to study in that area for both my Masters and my PhD degrees. After graduation, I was also fortunate that the University of Minnesota was looking for a new faculty member with flavor expertise. Events simply fell in line to become a flavor researcher. 

In terms of flavor research, my engineering interests have drawn me towards researching processing aspects of flavors, mainly their encapsulation. My interests in analytical chemistry have drawn me towards exploring the linkages between analytical data (flavor) and human perception, thereof.

The flavor challenges that we face when formulating with plant proteins are somewhat similar to those related to the traditional use of animal proteins. The similarity is that some of the animal proteins, primarily dairy, may carry some undesirable flavor in themselves and they tend to chemically react with flavorings that are added to make a commercial product. A difference is we have had 30 years or more to deal with issues related to using dairy proteins as food ingredients and maybe five years to work these issues out with plant proteins. 

There is no question that the flavor of a food product is a primary determinant of the success of the product in the marketplace. People simply will not eat foods that do not taste good irrespective of their sustainability or health related claims. Thus, when it comes to flavor issues related to plant proteins we have the reality that plants have a flavor and that flavor tends to be carried on to a finished protein isolate. The flavor may not be particularly offensive but it may not be appropriate for the intended use of the protein isolate. Thus, we must deal with the flavors inherent to our plant protein isolate. The second issue relates to how plant protein isolates chemically react with flavoring materials. Proteins are very reactive substances as are flavoring materials. Nearly all of our consumer products contain flavoring components that simply get consumed by the protein on storage. If we want to supply the customer with a good flavored product and have that flavor be acceptable over the desired shelf life, we have to understand and manage these flavor: protein reactions. 

In an academic setting we have the luxury of conducting fundamental research that can guide practical application by the industry. It is very common in the food industry to approach problems empirically – let’s try this, this, or this..... oftentimes a solution is found without an understanding of the cause of the problem but that solution may be fleeting, intermittent or abject failure. Only through understanding a problem can the industry find effective, lasting solutions - providing understanding is our role in the academic world. 

We have been fortunate to get substantial support to study undesirable flavor inherent to plant proteins. We had a project determining the objectionable flavor components in pennycress and now have a similar research project on camelina. We have a USDA funded project where we are able to study the fate of inherently undesirable flavor components in a pea protein isolate and monitor how they change during different protein isolate procedures.  We have also had a longer-term project developing methodology to determine how to measure reactions that occur between whey protein and flavor compounds. (This is not a simple task.) This work will prove very valuable in our current project addressing flavor reactions with plant proteins. 

While not related to flavor, we have been investigating the use of proteins in the encapsulation of fish oils and flavor compounds. Our encapsulation procedure requires an emulsifying food polymer (preparing an emulsion of the bioactive in aqueous solution) and proteins are exceptionally good at doing so. 

Currently there is a great deal of effort devoted to determining the functionality of various plant protein sources. However, beyond simply characterizing the functionality of plant proteins, we must do the fundamental research that in fact determines plant protein functionality. This research can guide potential modification of the plant proteins to make them more functional and ultimately determine where plant proteins will fit into food applications. 

Give me enough butter and some sweetness and I am a happy baker. Understanding that, one will not be surprised that caramels, in one form or another, are an absolute delight to me.