Rice Could Be a Solution for Healthy Plant-Based Cheese for Allergy Sufferers

For many people, cheese is the last food item most difficult to abandon when deciding to become vegan or avoid dairy products. The problem is that many non-dairy cheese alternatives currently on the market actually use nuts or gluten-based ingredients that trigger allergies.

Seeing this gap, scientists are now turning to rice as a base ingredient for cheese with hypoallergenic properties (low allergy risk). Interestingly, the most promising protein source comes not only from whole rice grains but also from the byproducts of rice milling that have been previously neglected.

Arkansas, as a leading rice producer in the United States, generates millions of tonnes of rice bran and broken kernels annually. Through a study published in the journal Future Foods, researchers have explored how these byproducts can be processed into high-quality protein.

Assistant Professor of Food Science from Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Mahfuzur Rahman, along with his student Ruslan Mehadi Galib, examined the protein characteristics from various parts of rice grains.

“Within a single grain of rice, we have three different types of protein—from brown rice, white rice, and bran,” said Rahman. “That is the fundamental understanding we want to develop. When you say ‘rice protein’, what does it mean? Is it brown rice protein? Bran protein? Or broken rice kernel protein?”

In their experiment, the research team created three plant-based cheese prototypes using organic coconut oil and corn starch. The resulting cheese from these rice byproducts contained approximately 12 percent protein—a fairly high figure for the plant-based cheese category, which typically has low protein content.

Each part of the rice grain provided different texture and properties to the cheese:

Broken Rice Protein: Produced a softer texture, with better melting ability and oil separation properties.

Brown Rice Protein: Had higher essential amino acid content and was most easily digested by the body.

Rice Bran Protein: Had strong water-retention capability, thereby improving texture and minimising oil leakage in the cheese prototype.

Utilising these rice milling byproducts not only offers a solution for allergy sufferers but also promotes sustainable circular economy practices. Rice protein with good emulsifying properties even has the potential to replace eggs in various other food recipes.

Currently, the research team is refining the cheese formula, including testing consumer acceptance and product shelf-life stability.

“Current research is ongoing to address these issues, facilitating the transition from laboratory development to practical application,” concluded Rahman.