Ready for Fish-Free Fish?
Summary
Host Jennifer Strong tours New School Foods in Toronto to explore their plant-based salmon, which uses directional freezing and seaweed scaffolds to mimic real fish without extrusion. Founder Chris Bryson explains how their manufacturing technology creates realistic textures and flaking layers, allowing the product to stand on its own. The team also demonstrates prototypes for steaks and burgers, highlighting the versatility of their assembly line. The episode concludes with a tasting session that showcases the product’s similar macros to wild salmon while eliminating mercury and microplast…
Topics discussed
Introduction to plant-based salmon and New School Foods
Show intro and brief tech news segment
Touring the workshop and manufacturing technology focus
Why extrusion is limited and the new alternative process
Product versioning and iteration process with restaurants
Ingredients: seaweed scaffolds, potato protein, and algae oils
Expanding beyond salmon to steak and other meats
Using trimmings to create a secondary burger product
Lab equipment for analyzing flavor, texture, and color
Directional freezing vs. extrusion for raw appearance
V1 production line and scalable off-the-shelf equipment
Creating the scaffold and injecting white lines
Plate freezing process to create micro-channels
Thawing, drying, and vacuum filling the scaffold
Tasting the salmon and discussing cooking experience
Feedback on flavor, texture, and future improvements
Tasting the burger and comparing nutritional macros
Benefits over farmed fish and episode credits
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