Yali Bio showcases dairy fat alternative in ice cream demo

California-based food-tech company Yali Bio unveiled its precision-fermented dairy fat alternative at the Mista Growth Hack event in San Francisco.

The company debuted the product in a demonstration dairy-free ice cream, developed with the help of ingredients companies AAK, Ingredion and Givaudan. According to the company, the demo ice cream ran out in under an hour at the event.

By default, the new fat has a pale, buttery colour and neutral flavour. Due to Yali Bio’s precision fermentation technology, various qualities such as melting point can be tuned to suit specific applications.

The ingredient can be used to improve the taste, texture, cooking performance, nutrition and eco-credentials of entire food categories including non-dairy butter and cheese, as well as baked goods and confectionery.

Yali Bio said that the fat’s nutritional profile makes it an attractive alternative to dairy fat and other plant-based fats from sources like coconut, containing half of the saturated fat and five times the monounsaturated fat of coconut.

According to the company, the product can also be made extremely efficiently with low greenhouse gas emissions and high supply chain transparency.