What is it about vegan meat substitutes that makes them actually taste like meat? I assume there’s some flavour additive but what is it that makes the meat flavour without actually using meat products?
In: Biology
Impossible uses Heme, which is in all living organisms. It is what gives meat it’s “meaty” flavor. They specifically use heme from the roots of soybean plants. They insert DNA into genetically modified yeast to produce more soy heme.
Side note GMOs don’t cause cancer, autism, or anything else. ~~Remember corn as we know it and seedless grapes/watermelons wouldn’t exist without being genetically modified.~~
I stand corrected. I’ll leave my replies up so u/Pobox14 comments make sense.
Not the most detailed answer but I once heard things like the Beyond Burger ppl were able to figure out that hemoglobin molecules is a big part of what makes meat taste like meat, and they were able to isolate a similar molecule in root vegetables to mimic the taste.
A related explanation specific to jackfruit and seitan (wheat gluten) is it’s mostly texture. I would argue that these were the first successful meat substitutes. Tofu is absolutely unconvincing, no matter what you do to it, but jackfruit and seitan are similar in texture to their meat counterparts – pulled pork or shredded chicken, and roast beef, and saucing them fills the gap.
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