Plant-based mayonnaise: Trending ingredients for innovative products

Mayonnaise is an emulsion basically composed of vegetable oil, an acidifying agent, and eggs; it is one of the most consumed foods in the world. Recently, there has been a trend toward replacing eggs with plant-based components or refined vegetable oils with less toxic or healthier ingredients to create mayonnaise analogs with innovative formulations. In this review, the potential types and properties of ingredients used as well as the standard formulation for the production of plant-based mayonnaise are described. The ingredients described were vegetable oil (rapeseed oil oleosomes and chia seed oil); gums (durian, zodo, xanthan, and arabica seed); oil and cactus mucilages (Opuntia); plant extracts (liquid and dehydrated chickpea aquafaba); vegetable protein isolates (beans or chickpeas); vegetable flour (peanut, sesame, and soy), and pickering emulsions (turmeric and pea protein isolate). The standard formulation was approximately 63% vegetable oil, 8% stabilizer/emulsifier, 5% acid and spices each, 20% water, and 1,5% other additives. The different rheological characteristics presented by the main ingredients to replace oils and eggs affect the proportion used in this formulation. Innovative mayonnaises have better nutritional/functional qualities, and their demand is growing in the food industry due to the popularization of healthier, plant-based alternative products.