I’ve tried both Jake and Huel and the thing with Jake which wins me over is that I don’t seem to need so much water (400ml) for a nice liquid format for the shake but with Huel it takes 500ml and it’s pretty thick.
Also the nicely liquid Jake with 400ml water is 160g/667kcal while Huel with 500ml water with three scoups fills 100g/400kcal and is pretty thick. I don’t mind the thickness really but I’d like to consume more kcal faster and in this point the Jake feels much better.
So, I’m asking how could this be improved and why is so much more water required per serving for Huel compared to Jake?
Ideally, I’d really like Huel to improve on this point.
This is entirely down to the carb (and fat) sources used, and Huel won’t really be able to improve this without worsening the nutrition. Huel’s carbs come almost entirely from oat flour. Jake’s come from oat flour and maltodextrin, as well as dextrose. Maltodextrin and dextrose are both more soluble than oat flour, making the mix thinner for a given water content. Additionally maltodextrin allows the binding of oils to make oil powders - these are also extremely soluble in water if an emulsifier is present. Most of the fats in Jake come from oils that are bound to this maltodextrin, so less water is needed for the mix to not be thick. They also have omega 3 powder, but that’s also very soluble. On the other hand, Huel’s comes from partly flaxseed, which is less soluble. This is why Huel is thicker with the same water content / has fewer Calories for the same consistency and water level.
I only use 300ml water per 3 scoops of Huel and the consistency is perfect for me. Yes it is quite thick but I can’t imagine it any thinner, it would be too much like a drink rather than a meal
The thickness of huel of a real USP in my opinion.
I’ve had a whole bunch of other lents now and most of them rely on maltodextrin for carbs, as @IcyElemental says, that’s way more soluble in water but in my experience that also means they don’t satiate me as much and rather than feeling full after a ‘meal’, I just feel like I’ve drunk a load of water.
I add chia seeds sometimes, especially when I’m cooking with huel, that really thickens things up.
Huel v1.2 was considerably thinner, easier to consume faster, and required less water than Huel v2.1.
The situation should improve “soon” because Huel is working on a new mix that uses only xanthan gum and gum arabic, instead of carrageenan + xanthan gum + guar gum.
A month into the 2.0 launch a new emulsifier mix/gum blend was introduced. The current thickness is deliberate.
1.2 was powder, pretty much, and nothing else. It didn’t clump, but it did settle. At 100g to 400mil it was barely over the thickness of water and drank as such.
A lot of complaint went into how watery it was(search for watery on the forum), and the decision was made to bring the viscosity up to levels equivalent to the vanilla version. A survey was done post-change, and resulted in a nice little perfect bell curve(25% unhappy, 50% meh and 25% wished it was thicker still). It has made some people very happy, it has artificially increased satiety and it has pissed me off to no end.
I keep hearing that I should “add more water”, because apparently that carries more weight than “you should add less water”.
In any case, not the carbs and fats this time. I have about 40kg of 1.2 left. It’s still as watery and lovely as ever. If I want it thicker I add 10-20g of 2.0. Or use less water.
I’m still on my first batch which is 1.2. If 2.x is much thicker I’ll have a problem as I will have to add more water than I do now & I don’t want increased volume for a single 100g serving.
Did the change affect both variants or just U&U?
Also, any idea when they will actually start shipping the xanthan gum only version? I might have to push my subscription back to avoid getting old stock of the overly thick version/s :-/
I have to say, while I understand the product is undergoing development, once they have a significant customer base I don’t think they should be so casual over making changes to the product. If possible I think after customer consultation they should create sample packs of the proposed new version & allow customers to give feedback on those samples before committing to the change. They’ll piss off too many people otherwise & risk losing significant custom.
I feel this is a particular problem witth Huel as I imagine many customers bulk buy. Further, Huel becomes a core part of one’s diet, possibly even all of one’s diet, so any changes have a massive impact on each customer. Thus even small changes can have a significant impact.
I’d be interested in any official feedback on this post, if any Huel representative is able to comment.
That is interesting because per gram the energy of Jake is very similar to Huel. 416kcal per 100g to our 400 kcal per 100g, assuming you were having their Original. So it is simply a case of solubility, @IcyElemental is far more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than myself due to their business endeavours, but that seems to make sense. A significant percentage of Huel is made of oat flour and looking at Jake’s sugar level compared to ours it would appear than Huel has more oats in, leading to a thicker consistency.
I agree that the thickness of Huel is a USP and a key contributor to the satiating effect that makes Huel such a surprise for new customers looking to eat healthier and filling meals and snacks during the working day.
You are of course referring to the 1.2 Unsweetened & Unflavoured (UU) Huel, which was thinner than v2 UU Huel before we brought it in line with our Vanilla. However the thickness of Vanilla Huel between 1.2 and 2.1 has not changed significantly. @usr is referring to Vanilla Huel.
Although I could be wrong, I believe the goal of introducing a new gum blend that omits carrageenan is not to change the consistency of Huel. Rather just to stop using carrageenan which has some negative press surrounding it. The end result being Huel with exactly the same mouthfeel and texture of Huel currently, just without carrageenan. However, I’m not overseeing this project so don’t quote me.
That makes sense. I read more into the described change than was there. Dang.
[Edit] Oh, ok. So I was wrong about 2.x Vanilla being much thicker than 1.2? Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ll get my coat.
Could you comment on: [quote=“Michael_Rozdoba, post:9, topic:5152”]If possible I think after customer consultation they should create sample packs of the proposed new version & allow customers to give feedback on those samples before committing to the change.[/quote]
I’m not sure if the last batch was weird or this one is an exception or just mixed a bit differently on the surface but, now it doesn’t feel thick at all.
How long do you leave it before drinking it? I find it’s much thinner and much easier to down when it’s freshly made. If I make it and leave it for 20-30mins its thicker and if left overnight it becomes too thick for me.
