Process for producing cookable, fibrous meat analogues with directional freezing

A process for producing fibrous meat analogues, comprising:

• subjecting an ingestible polysaccharide hydrogel to directional freezing inducing formation of aligned elongated ice crystals to form a directionally frozen polysaccharide hydrogel with aligned channels in which the aligned elongated ice crystals are located;
• thawing the directionally frozen polysaccharide hydrogel with the aligned channels by immersing the frozen ingestible polysaccharide hydrogel in a solution containing at least one ingestible soluble heat gelling protein, thereby melting and replacing the aligned elongated ice crystals with the at least one ingestible soluble heat gelling protein at a temperature below the gelling temperature of the soluble heat gelling protein, to produce a protein infused polysaccharide hydrogel, wherein protein loading varies based on the immersing time;
• and
• heating the protein infused ingestible polysaccharide hydrogel at a temperature above the gelling temperature of the at least one ingestible soluble heat gelling protein to create protein fibers to form a fibrous meat analogue food product.