How Do Flavor Chemists Make Meat Flavors Without Using Real Meat?
Revised November 11, 2019
From wish-list to high-priority, meat mimicking is dominating labs and test kitchens across America. We speak with a skilled flavor chemist to learn how companies are achieving real meat flavor without using any actual meat.
From wish-list to high-priority
Creating phenomenal meatless meat flavors for vegetarian products has been a wish-list item for many industrial flavor companies for many years now.
Although “plant-based” has become the new buzzword over the past couple years, meat alternatives have been around for decades. (Boca Burger® and Tofurky® have been around for forty years!)
Self identified eating habits, Brisan Group Flexitarian Survey: September 2019.
However, the new demand for plant-based alternatives that taste “just like real meat” has grown with such significance that it dominates labs and test kitchens across America.
And with demand (and funding) comes progress. Meatless meat flavors have seen impressive strides over the past couple years.
“When purchasing a meat alternative, products that look and taste ‘just like real meat’ is the number one most important factor to 72% of consumers.”
Photo Credit: New York Times.
So how do flavorists achieve a meat flavor without using…any meat?
The basis for any “meatless” meat flavor is to mimic the chemistry found in certain meat profiles. Scientists achieve this through the use of:
Maillard reaction - using sugars, amino acids, yeast extracts, etc;
Volatile compounds - that will help deliver the overall flavor profile. Some volatile compounds require processing in order to adapt into a rounded meat flavor;
Aroma and texture balance - since taste perception involve numerous senses, mimicking a high quality meat flavor means thinking beyond just flavor (see below explanation).
Sensory science of meatless taste: Aroma, Flavor, and Texture
Obviously there’s a big difference between chicken and beef (with numerous variations), the fat content of particular meat profiles is a key differentiator. A full bodied beef flavor should include some sort of fatty notes to help contribute the expected mouthfeel.
The continual learning curve for flavorists
Flavorists can spend their lives learning meat flavor replication, but the science is so complex and sophisticated that many flavor chemists never fully master it. "I've been in the industry for 21 years and I don’t mind saying it's a continual learning curve,” remarks a senior flavor chemist at a small New Jersey flavor company.
“I’ve been in the industry for 21 years and I don’t mind saying it’s a continual learning curve.”
Leveraging trial and error and existing scientific publications, flavor chemists are able to give themselves robust foundational knowledge now more than ever.
As the industry progresses and consumer demand for “just like real meat” taste expectations continues to expand, flavor chemists will always find themselves on a pursuit for better meat type flavors that replicate the flavor attributes of animal protein with no perceived difference from consumers.
Learn more about the consumer power shift and how to maximize it.
Increased demand for vegetarian meat flavors
The senior flavor chemist went on to add, “The amount of requests I receive for flavors that are animal-derived have dropped significantly."
The food industry has seen a huge increase in vegetarian meat flavors over the past several years due to the demand for sustainable, healthy, environmentally friendly products in the plant-based category.
Vegetarian compounds used to create real meat taste
Finding a balance of “top note” flavors is essential to creating realistic meat-type character.
See below vegetarian, non-meat organic chemistry compounds that are commonly used by industrial flavorists to create vegetarian bacon flavors." Click here to learn what a "natural flavor" is.
These compounds simulate a meaty, smokey bacon flavor:
2-Isopropyl pyridine — burnt, interesting in smoke and bacon flavors.
2-Methyl 5-ethyl thiophene — roasted, petroleum — unusual note, cool note in bacon flavors
5-Methyl thiophene 2-carboxaldehyde — caramel, nutty almond — interesting in many brown flavors
2(4)-Isopropyl 4(2),6-dimethyl dihydro (4H)-dithiazine — meaty — interesting note in cooked vegetable and bacon flavors.
2(4)-Isobutyl 4(2),6-dimethyl dihydro (4H)-dithiazine — "cooked" flavor, superb for bacon
Guaiac Wood Oil Distilled (Bulnesia sarmienti) —mildly woody to smoke FEMA 2534
Butyl levulinate — damson, maple — interesting fruity note useful note in prune and bacon flavors
3-Methyl-2-butanethiol — very interesting roast note in beef and bacon flavors
3-Methyl-2-butenyl thioacetate — burnt, bacon — very strong burnt fat character
Guaiacol (2-methoxy phenol) — smoke — excellent raw material in smoke, ham and bacon flavors
4-Propyl 2, 6-dimethoxy phenol — smoke / useful in bacon flavors
Credit: Wright, John. Flavor Creation, 2nd Edition. Carol Stream: Allured Business Media, 2011. Print.
Tips for designing winning meat alternatives
How to design vegetarian products and find innovation white space
Since the plant-based category is so new and has only recently been accepted and adopted by consumers, it’s helpful to benchmark the meatless product category.
For the strongest accuracy, it’s important to first objectively and analytically understand and quantify different attributes (appearance, aroma, flavor, texture). Followed by turning to consumers to assess how these highly differentiated attributes drive behavior (both functional jobs to be done and emotional motivators).
This can be done with sensory panels and strategic consumer engagement tools.
Now what?
As the consumer demand for better tasting meatless products continues to rise, so will the successful development of even better tasting vegetarian meat flavors.