High protein soy snack wins award

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Soy Straws, a lightweight, shelf-stable snack, earned the $5,000 top prize in the first-ever Student Soy Food Competition at the 31st annual Student Soybean Innovation Competition.

Purdue students Anna Hicks, Rong Yang and Sara Thomason created the snack, which includes 15 grams of protein.

It can be made in a variety of flavors and has a simple manufacturing process, the team said.

“Getting crispy products can be a little bit tricky, especially a protein snack,” Hicks said. “It can be a little bit tricky to get the textures you want. There is a lot of trial and error with different formulations to get the texture you want.

“We were really excited when we were brainstorming because those crispy round snacks aren’t currently on the market.”

Team Senbae came in second place for its soy snack based on a traditional Japanese rice cracker. The crackers come in flavors such as miso paste, curry powder and soy sauce.

In third place, another team created a plant-based jerky called Tempehrados. This jerky combines a nutritious Indonesian food known as tempeh with bold Mexican flavors such as Chile Ancho, Chile Colorado and Chili Flakes.