Texture comparison between meat, plant-based products, and cultivated meat

Texture and its importance

Image credit: Shutterstock by Antonina Vlasova

Plant-based, and cultivated meat versus meat texture

I recommend reading about flavor in my previous article, as it adds to what I will discuss today.

My main focus for this blog is comparing textures. Each product has a unique characteristic that can be measured with sensory instruments. The measurements provide hardness, elasticity, and cohesiveness results. In turn, the tests help find the maximum texture needed to provide customer satisfaction with plant-based products, and cultivated meat. Also, this helps differentiate meat from other alternatives.

Some examples of plant-based products include soy ingredients, such as tempeh, tofu, and vegetable meat analogs—like soy proteins, mycoprotein and soy leghemoglobin. As we all know, these are protein substitutes to replace traditional meats in vegan and vegetarian diets. Other ingredients are added to provide similar texture as meat. They include soy protein texturizers—soy protein isolate—and agar gels, derived from algae.

Cultivated meat, on the other hand, is a new area in the food manufacturing industry that needs further research. Let’s start by looking at traditional meat to see how it compares to other alternative proteins.

Future of food, and IKEA

Check out this article:

https://www.domino.com/content/ikea-sustainable-cookbook-release/

Interesting article; talking about how IKEA developed an experimental cookbook to think about sustainable cooking & food. I would be interested to order the book & see what it is all about. The strangest thing I have ever tasted; crickets in ice cream at Salt & straw at the Seattle location. The cricket gave a crunchy texture – I didn’t really notice the cricket. Would you try bugs? I think I would give meal worms a try. I’ve also tried kelp as candy. The product was coated in sugar, and I didn’t taste the kelp that much. I thought I was eating a gummy bear. The texture was very chewy, and the taste was sweet.

Sustainable Packaging, and the future of food

Sustainable packaging

Sustainable packaging is the next big thing in the food manufacturing industry. Many consumers are becoming environmental conscious in their choices. For example, a consumer will choose a canned product that is BPA free versus a can with a BPA lining. Also, other food manufacturers are making their packaging out of recycled material. Here in Seattle, straws are made of compostable material. Plastic is banned in all restaurants to help save the environment. In grocery stores, there are recyclable bags vs plastic bags. Bringing your own bag is encouraged, or five cents is added to your receipt. I bring my own bag to avoid the charge, but I forget sometimes.