Navigating this shift requires more than technical expertise. Consumer acceptance remains deeply rooted in tradition, identity, and shared food experiences. To understand why certain foods are embraced while others are resisted, we look beyond formulation and processing and explore the cultural context of eating itself. Food choices are never purely about taste: they also reflect history, cultural belonging, and the stories we tell around the table.
The landscape of vegan options and alternative proteins has expanded rapidly over the past few decades. It is driven by innovation, sustainability goals, and changing consumer expectations. Among the key initiatives shaping this field, the EU Horizon Giant Leaps project takes a closer look at plant-based ingredients with the potential to replace traditional animal-derived proteins.
Researchers involved in the project are examining proteins from crops such as pea, lentil, faba bean, and particularly rapeseed. According to laboratory studies, these proteins are digestible and nutritionally suitable as alternatives to dairy proteins. When combined thoughtfully, extracts from these plants can be formulated to closely resemble, for example, the composition of low-sugar semi-skimmed dairy milk (Caliskan et al., 2025). However, translating these findings into successful consumer products requires further work, including exploring different protein/fat and protein/sugar ratios, as well as testing how consumers respond to these formulations.
Alongside legumes and oilseeds, nuts such as almond, hazelnut, and cashew have emerged as especially versatile ingredients. Studies conducted across four European countries indicate that these nuts are promising protein sources for milk and cheese alternatives. Their strong consumer acceptance is largely driven by familiarity and positive taste expectations, highlighting the importance of cultural and sensory factors alongside nutritional performance (Pronk et al., 2025). Research also shows that incorporating probiotic cultures and using fermentation enhance both acceptance and nutritional value of the tree-nut based dairy alternatives. Addition of pre/pro-biotics enrich products with vitamins and bioactive compounds, while fermentation also improves taste and texture (Udayarajan et al., 2022)
Not all alternative proteins enjoy equal acceptance, and the reasons extend beyond nutritional profiles or technical functionality. Recent consumer research highlights a strong pattern: familiar, staple foods consistently outperform novel sources. Despite growing interest in alternative proteins, insect-based foods still face strong cultural resistance in Europe. A survey of 1,825 consumers across five countries found that only 9% considered insect protein acceptable, with disgust cited as the main barrier (Siddiqui et al., 2023). This pattern echoes historical food practices documented already long time ago in anthropological studies like Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough. This book reveals how deeply cultural food taboos shape what people are willing to eat across different societies.
Understanding these cultural barriers is crucial for food professionals working with alternative proteins. As Frazer observed, among many cultures certain animals “we should call holy, others we might pronounce unclean and polluted” (Frazer, 1922). Insects, for example, appear throughout historical texts as taboo or ritual elements in many Western cultures, often associated with dark spirits, disease, and unhygienic environments. This helps to explain why cricket powder, despite being high in protein (57%) with an excellent amino acid profile (Ayllón-Parra et al., 2025a), struggles with consumer acceptance today, even as research demonstrates its nutritional benefits and sustainability advantages.
The historical weight of food prejudices may create barriers that technical innovation alone cannot easily overcome. Cross-cultural studies reinforce this pattern. A recent comparison study between Chinese and Danish consumers reveals a consistent acceptance hierarchy across cultures, where legumes rank highest, followed by plant-based meat analogues and hybrids, with cell-based foods receiving the lowest acceptance (Jakobsen et al., 2026). However, the study also highlights significant cultural variations: Chinese consumers are more familiar with alternative proteins (like insects or fermented products) and higher consumption frequency, while Danish participants remain more reluctant, particularly toward plant-based meat analogues.
This is not merely about taste preferences, but rather about cultural comfort and the invisible boundaries that separate acceptable from unacceptable foods. When creating alternative protein products, food professionals have to look beyond ingredients and technology. Cultural food habits matter: what feels familiar and appealing in one country may seem unusual or even unacceptable in another, shaped by generations of eating traditions. Encouragingly, research suggests that acceptance increases when insects are processed and incorporated into familiar foods. For example, German consumers expressed above-neutral willingness to try such products, while in Italy, 80% were open to insect-based chocolate after receiving information about its benefits (Siddiqui et al., 2023).
Fortunately, processing techniques can bridge some of these gaps while respecting cultural boundaries. Fermentation emerges as a particularly powerful tool. Food fermentation is an ancient process where microorganisms (yeast, bacteria) convert carbohydrates (sugars, starches) into acids or alcohol, preserving food, enhancing flavor, and boosting nutrition by creating vitamins and probiotics, which improve digestion and immunity. Solid-state fermentation, where microorganisms grow on solid substrates, with fungi like Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) is one of the examples. This process helps improving how alternative proteins behave in food and allowing them to keep moisture, blend more smoothly, and create stable, satisfying textures (Ayllón-Parra et al., 2025b).
Fermentation also reduces the proportion of compounds like phytic acid and protease inhibitors that affect digestibility and nutrient absorption in our intestines (D’Auria et al., 2025a, Udayarajan et al., 2022). The key is matching processing methods to ingredients: what works for chickpeas may differ from what works for quinoa or oats, and understanding these nuances allows food professionals to optimize functionality while maintaining nutritional quality.
For a Veganuary menu or upcoming Easter festivities, this can be translated into some practical opportunities combining innovation and tradition. Nut-based creams, like cashew-based whipped toppings for pudding or almond cream for festive tarts, provide rich, familiar flavors. Legume proteins, enhanced through fermentation, work beautifully in savory applications: pea protein-enhanced canapés, lentil-based spreads for holiday appetizers, or fermented legume accompaniments. These add depth to traditional dishes without challenging cultural comfort zones. The key is starting with familiar ingredients and applying processing techniques that enhance rather than transform their essential character. As The Golden Bough reminds us, food acceptance is deeply cultural, and the best innovations honor that reality while gently expanding culinary horizons.
References
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Ayllón-Parra, N., Castellari, M., Gou, P., & Ribas-Agustí, A. (2025a). Cricket powder (Acheta domesticus) nutritional and techno-functional properties and effects of solid-state fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus and Rhizopus oligosporus. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, 104, 104066.
Ayllón-Parra, N., Castellari, M., Gou, P., & Ribas-Agustí, A. (2025b). Effects of solid-state fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus on the nutritional and techno-functional properties of alternative protein ingredients. Food Chemistry, 490, 145090.
Caliskan, C., Nyhan, L., Halma, J., Feng, S., Hernández-Olivas, E., Brodkorb, A., Zannini, E., & Arendt, E. K. (2025). Bridging the Gap: Techno-functional and nutritional evaluation of rapeseed and legume proteins for dairy alternatives. Applied Food Research, 5, 101450.
Udayarajan, C.T., Mohan, K. and Nisha, P., 2022. Tree nuts: Treasure mine for prebiotic and probiotic dairy free vegan products. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 124, pp.208-218.
D’Auria, G., Hernandez Olivas, E., Graziuso, F., Cardillo, M., Piscitelli, A., Brodkorb, A., Nitride, C., & Ferranti, P. (2025a). A comparative analysis of antinutrient levels in commercial plant-based ingredients: The effect of processing into flours, concentrates and isolates. Food Chemistry, 496, 146859.
D’Auria, G., Milana, M., Hernandez Olivas, E., Arranz, S., Caro, M., Ferranti, P., Brodkorb, A., Tueros, I., Mills, C., Sozer, N., & Nitride, C. (2025b). Navigating the old and the new of anti-nutritional factors: A comprehensive and critical exploration of sustainable protein-rich ingredients and innovative processing techniques. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 165, 105365.
Frazer, J. G. (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Macmillan and Co., Limited.
Jakobsen, I. T., Onwezen, M. C., Wang, Y., Zhong, F., Byrne, D. V., & Andersen, B. V. (2026). Cross-cultural consumer acceptance of sustainable protein-rich foods; legumes, plant-based meat analogues and hybrids, and cell-based foods. Food Quality and Preference, 135, 105714.
Pronk, K., Etter, B., Michel, F., & Siegrist, M. (2025). A cross-cultural comparison to find the most promising protein sources for milk and cheese alternatives among four European countries. Future Foods, 12, 100724.
Siddiqui, S.A., Tettey, E., Yunusa, B.M., Ngah, N., Debrah, S.K., Yang, X., Fernando, I., Povetkin, S.N. and Shah, M.A., 2023. Legal situation and consumer acceptance of insects being eaten as human food in different nations across the world–A comprehensive review. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 22(6), pp.4786-4830.
