Binders and Extenders
Also known as Binders, Extenders, Soy, Soy protein, Soja protein, Starch, Vegetable proteins, Substitutes
Non-meat ingredients such as soy protein, starch and vegetable proteins added to bind water and fat or to bulk a product out, used mainly in cooked and economy products.
Binders and extenders are non-meat additions with two overlapping jobs. Binders, such as soy protein or starch, help hold water and fat in the mass and firm the texture; extenders bulk a product out with cheaper non-meat material. Both belong chiefly to cooked and emulsified products and to economy formulations, not to traditional dry-cured work.
The common ones are soya protein in its various grades, starches from potato or cereal, and other vegetable proteins, sometimes vegetables themselves. In a well-made cooked sausage they improve bind, slice and yield; used heavily they thin the meat character, which is why traditional and protected products restrict or forbid them.