Texturization
Proteins constitute the basis of structures and texture in several foods, whether these come from living tissue (myofibrills in meat or fish) or from fabricated substances (bread dough and crumb, soy or gelatin gels, cheese, curds, sausage, meat emulsion etc).
Also, there are a number of texturization processes that begin with soluble vegetable or milk proteins and that lead to film or fiber like products with chewiness and good water holding capacity and that have the ability to retain these properties during subsequent hydration and heat treatment. These texturized proteins are often used as meat substitutes and/or extenders. Also, some texturization processes are done for the purpose of retexturization or reforming animal proteins such as beef or poultry meat.