Nutrients-dense 3D-printed foods for the elderly and people with swallowing disorders

A method of preparing an animal protein and prebiotic dietary fiber rich food formulation for elderly and patients with swallowing disorders, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) preparing lean meat by cooking the meat in water, cooling the meat to room temperature, and mincing the cooled meat;
• b) preparing a bigel system, wherein
• i. a hydrogel phase consisting of collagen and water is prepared by weighing and mixing 45% w/w of collagen in water;
• ii. an oleogel phase is prepared by mixing 1% w/w of emulsifier into vegetable oil;
• iii. heat-treating the hydrogel phase and the oleogel phase separately at about 85° C. temperature for 30 minutes by constantly mixing, and
• iv. mixing the oleogel-phase with the hydrogel-phase at a ratio 1:3 w/w, where the mixed phases are emulsified at about 85° C.;
• c) preparing prebiotic dietary fibers, wherein
• i. a berry pomace is dried to a moisture content of 7-9%;
• ii. the dried berry pomace is milled to 0.2-0.25 mm particles;
• d) blending the components prepared in steps (a), (b), and (c), in the following order:
• i. blending for about 3 minutes:
• 34-35% w/w of the minced meat from the step a), 39-44% w/w of water or broth, 4-5% w/w of the prebiotic dietary fiber component from step c), 2-3% w/w of collagen, 1-2% w/w of seasonings, and natrium chloride;
• and
• ii. adding the bigel system of step b) into the blend obtained in step (i.) and further blending for 1 minute;
• and
• e) obtaining a formulation containing 3-4 g of dietary fiber and 23-25 g of animal protein in 100 g of the formulation, and wherein the obtained formulation is suitable for 3D-printing.