## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Assessment of Time-Delayed Gelation  
The functionality of the proposed method in terms of gelling and the time by which it was delayed was assessed. In industrial production dimensions, delays in production processes can always occur and can lead to longer downtimes at various points in the process. It is therefore advantageous if a product can bridge longer periods of time before final completion without any loss of quality.  
The gelling reaction itself happened as anticipated; the introduced CaCO\({}_{3}\) was able to react effectively with the low-ester pectin and formed firm gels. The time delay of this reaction was also possible, however, due to the low intrinsic pH of the pectin solution (pH = 4.2); a partial gelling reaction of low-ester pectin with calcium occurred gradually over time before the fermentation started. This is to be seen in Figure 3, in which a clear drop in hardness can be observed with longer storage times before filling in both the fermented and unfermented matrix. This indicates that, especially in the first 60 min after mixing, a partial gelling reaction between pectin and CaCO\({}_{3}\) occurred, even without microbial acid being involved. These early-gelled structures were again disrupted by the high shear forces during the filling process, which is why they could no longer contribute to the structure of the final matrix with similar efficiency to the pectin that gelled in the final position after filling.  
A certain gel strength was also achieved without implementation of fermentation; however, the fermented matrices (pH = 4.6) exhibited a distinctly better-developed gel structure across all samples compared to the non-fermented ones (pH = 5.7).  
In order to create matrices that are as firm as possible, the storage time between mixing and filling should be kept as short as possible, which is not optimal for manufacturing. However, this only applies to the mixing of low-ester pectin and CaCO\({}_{3}\), which enables slightly extended flexibility in production. Of course, this is not an exclusion criterion for products; liver sausage, for example, must be filled and further processed directly after creating the emulsion in order to prevent the final product quality from deteriorating [57]. However, it would be advantageous to extend these potential intermediate storage times without affecting the product. An important factor that influences the dissociation speed of calcium ions into the surrounding environment is the particle size of the used CaCO\({}_{3}\). Finer grinds lead to larger contact areas and hence faster gelling [47]. Alternatively, another hydrocolloid with less internal acidity, such as t-carrageenan (pH = 8-11) [58], could be used. Another option would be to encapsulate or bind the calcium by complexing, as is already performed in other applications. EDTA (E 385), for example, would be an option here, which also is known to release calcium at pH values lower than pH = 4.0 [59]. This in turn would be too late a release, which would disrupt the organoleptic properties of the product due to the low pH value. Further research in this area would be necessary to  
Figure 3: Effects of acidification by starter cultures and intermediate storage time between mixing and filling of the plant-based salami analog mass on the final product texture. Sample masses were filled into sealable cups (n = 8) after varying storage times at 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Once filled, they ripened for 24 h at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C and then for 72 h at 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C and were subsequently analyzed.  
optimize the process. Assuming it can be ensured that filling can happen fairly directly after mixing, the proposed method can be successfully applied.