{"id":251345,"date":"2026-08-18T07:15:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=251345"},"modified":"2026-08-14T14:32:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:32:45","slug":"elena-camachos-innovating-plant-protein-rich-foods-as-puris-intern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/08\/elena-camachos-innovating-plant-protein-rich-foods-as-puris-intern\/","title":{"rendered":"Elena Camacho\u2019s Innovating Plant Protein-Rich Foods as PURIS Intern"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elena Camacho \u201928 (CAHNR<\/a>) is putting the knowledge and skills she\u2019s developed as a nutritional sciences major to work this summer as an intern at PURIS.<\/p>\n

PURIS is a food company focused on plant-based protein. It produces pea protein and non-GMO soybeans as both finished consumer products like beverages and snacks as well as ingredients for preparation in recipes.<\/p>\n

Camacho says PURIS\u2019 plant-based mission, as well as its location close to home in Iowa, made the internship opportunity especially appealing. PURIS CEO Tyler Lorenzen \u201908 (BUS) is a UConn alum.<\/p>\n

\u201cPURIS focus on plant-based innovation was particularly appealing to me because it offered exposure to a unique area of the food industry that I had not previously explored,\u201d Camacho says. \u201cI was really intrigued by the work PURIS was doing,\u201d<\/p>\n

This summer, Camacho has been working on recipe and ingredient development, and analytical testing of PURIS pea protein, helping evaluate its performance across a variety of food applications, including products such as ice cream that incorporates PURIS pea protein.<\/p>\n

This process involves assessing a product\u2019s flavor and texture profile to ensure it will be appealing to consumers and stable as a product.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important because when it comes to taste and flavor, we really want it to have that smooth texture, clean taste, and no unpleasant aftertaste or mouthfeel,\u201d Camacho says.<\/p>\n

Camacho says she values the active nature of the internship, which rarely has her sitting at a desk all day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m conducting research and working on recipe development projects,\u201d Camacho says. \u201cBut then I\u2019m also on my feet. I am able to work in both the lab and kitchen applying what I\u2019ve learned, and gaining hands on experience with product development. You get that mix \u2013 it\u2019s the best of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

This internship has opened Camacho up to the food science side of nutritional sciences, which she has not yet had a chance to study in her coursework.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really saw the food science side of things,\u201d Camacho says. \u201cThis [internship] showed me how different enzymes interact with proteins and influence their functional properties … to be able to take that knowledge and apply it to different food products, and understand how it affects texture, flavor, and overall product performance, has been incredibly valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of her internship, Camacho had the opportunity to tour PURIS\u2019 plant in Dawson, Minn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was super interesting to be able to go up and visit the Dawson facility. Being able to tour the plant provided me with valuable insight into the manufacturing process and helped me better understand how the ingredients we work with are made,\u201d Camacho says.<\/p>\n

Camacho is interested in a career in dietetics after graduation. She says her experience in recipe development this summer at PURIS could help her in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I want to work with younger kids, I think that this could help me because kids are very picky,\u201d Camacho says. \u201cThey don\u2019t really want to try anything new, and you have to be able to work with their tastebuds. This internship has showed me \u00a0how product formulation can help make nutritious foods more appealing while still providing the nutrients children need.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This work relates to CAHNR\u2019s Strategic Vision area focused on\u00a0<\/em>Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0<\/em>UConn CAHNR<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on social media<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘I am able to work in both the lab and kitchen applying what I\u2019ve learned, and gaining hands on experience with product development. You get that mix \u2013 it\u2019s the best of both worlds’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":251383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2224,2471,2231,2301,1862,2712,2235,2458],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-251345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cahnr","category-economic-development","category-health-well-being","category-nutritional-sciences","category-busn","category-student-success","category-today-homepage","category-undergraduates"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-25 11:05:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251345"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251429,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251345\/revisions\/251429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/251383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251345"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=251345"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=251345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}