Legumes, insects and fermented foods are exhibited at the Salon de l’Agriculture

Legumes, insects and fermented foods are typically the foods that should be consumed in greater quantities by 2050 both in the interest of the planet and that of our health. Ideally, over the next 25 years, we should reduce our consumption of red meat by more than 50%. And in this perspective, insects (whose breeding requires little water and surface area) and legumes (beans, peas, broad beans, lentils) are a solution because they are rich in protein. We already know yogurts, cheese, wine, sauerkraut, so for innovation it seems to have failed. But currently, we are only using a very small part of the potential of fermentation, say the researchers. For example, to make yoghurts, we mainly only use two strains of microorganisms, whereas there are at least 4,000 of them that are of food interest.

If researchers are betting so much on fermentation for the future, it is because this process of transformation by micro-organisms makes it possible both to preserve food naturally, without industrial additives, but also to obtain flavors and new textures, and also to improve the nutritional quality of food. For example, there is more vitamin C in sauerkraut than in fresh cabbage and there is vitamin B12 which appears in yogurts.

Foods that are currently unpopular

The question of acceptability still arises. Insects, legumes or yeasts, it does not necessarily make the mouth water. The researchers are convinced that fermentation will make it possible to discover new flavors, and that this will not really be a problem. For insects, it will probably be necessary to put it in the form of flour. Finally, for legumes, the objective is to innovate in textures and tastes.

After lentil flour pasta, a Grignon research team has, for example, developed a cheese made from fermented peas. After the taste tests, 53% of consumers were ready to buy this cheese.