What does Plant Meat Taste like? How is it Different from Vegetarian Meat?
Taste closer to real meat
The staff of Jinzi Company made beef-flavored plant meat burgers for everyone on the spot for everyone to taste. The golden beef-flavored vegetable patties are round, slightly thicker than common steaks; bright red in color, similar to fresh beef. Because vegetable meatloaf is frozen and preserved, it needs to be thawed before cooking. The staff put the thawed meatloaf into a frying pan and fry it. The frying time is usually 5 to 10 minutes. In the process of frying, there is a strong smell of meat. After frying, the staff cuts the meatloaf into small pieces and makes a burger with lettuce, tomato and bread. The reporter tasted a piece, the taste is basically close to beef, and there is a taste of gravy. If it is not known in advance, it is really not easy to distinguish. The vegetarian meat made from soy products tastes completely vegetarian. The difference between the two is quite obvious. However, the meatloaf modified from plant protein is still different from animal fiber, so the plant meat bites more loosely.
Ingredients of plant meat
All the components of plant meat products are derived from plants, and the main raw materials are plant proteins extracted from plants such as soybeans, peas, and wheat. Modern food processing technology and equipment are used to make their nutritional components, taste and flavor close to animal meat. Jinzi Plant Meat is the result of cooperation between Jinzi Company and DuPont Nutrition and Biotechnology China R&D Center. Dr. Cao Jian, DuPont Nutrition and Health R&D Manager, said that the previous vegetarian meat was just like animal meat in shape, but the texture and taste were still very different from animal meat. The taste was soft, while the taste of plant meat and animal meat had been compared. Close, to be precise, plant meat is closer to real meat in terms of texture (chew, elasticity, tenderness, etc.), juiciness, color, and flavor. "In the process of plant meat research and development, the main technical difficulties to be solved are the modification of plant protein. The circular molecular structure of soy protein must be reconstructed into the fibrous molecular structure of meat; the second is to use plant-derived flavor substances to make plant meat Close to the texture and fragrance of animal meat. In layman's terms, it is to make plant meat have the texture, taste and flavor of animal meat." Cao Jian said.
Why develop plant meat products
Shi Yanjun, the actual controller of Jinzi Company, said: First of all, plant meat is a new healthy and green product. It is meaningful for Jinzi to make such an attempt. Secondly, the development of plant meat products is also a perfection of the company's product structure. Plant meat and traditional meat products are not opposed. Ma Xiaozhong, Chief Technology Officer of Jinzi Company, is also a member of China Meat, Poultry and Egg Expert Technical Committee. For more than a year, Ma Xiaozhong has been in charge of the Jinzi plant meat project. When it comes to the texture, taste, color, fragrance and other aspects of plant meat compared with animal meat, Ma Xiaozhong said: "I will pass it." With the support of DuPont's technical team, Jinzi has also successfully developed beef-flavored vegetable patties, pork-flavored vegetable patties, vegetable meat lion heads and other products, which will begin mass production in late October.