Flavor and Metabolite Profiles of Meat, Meat Substitutes, and Traditional Plant-Based High-Protein Food Products Available in Australia

Abstract

Demand for plant-based proteins and plant-based food products is increasing globally. This trend is driven mainly by global population growth and a consumer shift towards more sustainable and healthier diets. Existing plant-based protein foods and meat mimetics often possess undesirable flavor and sensory properties and there is a need to better understand the formation of desirable meat-like flavors from plant precursors to improve acceptance of novel high-protein plant foods. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize the non-volatile flavor metabolites and the volatiles generated in grilled meat (beef, chicken, and pork) and compare these to commercially available meat substitutes and traditional high-protein plant-based foods (natto, tempeh, and tofu). Solid phase microextraction with gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry was used for elucidation of the flavor volatilome. Untargeted characterization of the non-volatile metabolome was conducted using Orbitrap mass spectrometry and Compound DiscovererTM datamining software. The study revealed greater diversity and higher concentrations of flavor volatiles in plant-based foods in comparison to grilled meat, although the odor activity of specific volatiles was not considered. On average, the total amount of volatiles in plant-based products were higher than in meat. A range of concentrations of free amino acids, dipeptide, tripeptides, tetrapeptides, nucleotides, flavonoids, and other metabolites was identified in meat and plant-based foods.

Consumer Perception and Acceptability of Plant-Based Alternatives to Chicken

“…In addition, the sour and nutty attributes were on the positive side, while salty, chicken flavor, and savory were on the negative side. Salty taste is well-liked in chicken products [ 43 ], while sour and nutty are associated with plant-based proteins [ 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”

Effect of Adding Bifidobacterium animalis BZ25 on the Flavor, Functional Components and Biogenic Amines of Natto by Bacillus subtilis GUTU09

“…Compared with similar reports, it is found that the main VOCs of natto are the same but also different, reflecting both commonness and individuality. For example, Kaczmarska et al [ 35 ] found the volatile profile of the natto was dominated by alkylpyrazines and ketones. Chen et al [ 7 ] found that the main VOCs in natto were esters, ketones, pyrazines, and phenols.…”

Exploring lactic acid bacteria diversity for better fermentation of plant-based dairy alternatives

“…The number of studies characterising flavour development of fermented PBMAs are much fewer than that for meat alternatives. 22 Kaczmarska et al 23 investigated the chemical composition and sensory profile of various meat analogues, as well as fermented plant products such as tempeh and tofu, which are often regarded as meat-like substitutes. The results showed that only a few alternatives had a sensory profile vaguely resembling a meaty taste, and vastly different flavor profiles.…”