Mechanical properties and texture profile analysis of beef burgers and plant-based analogues

Abstract

Cultivated meat, or cultured meat, is lab-grown from animal stem cells, differentiated into muscle and/or fat, to yield meat products. The process is more sustainable and more ethical than traditional farming, allowing to meet growing consumer demand. However, there remains a challenge in replicating the organoleptic properties of commercially available meat products for cultivated meat applications. Consequently, this study employs single-cycle uniaxial testing (flexion, tension, compression, cutting) governed by ISO standards, and texture profiling analysis, to ascertain the modulus, yield strain, hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, springiness, resilience and chewiness of seven commercially available burgers. These were tested both raw and cooked, and comprise beef (including a range of beef contents, fat percentages and price points) and plant-based analogues. Here, we show that (i) both mechanical (flexural, compressive and cutting yield strains) and textural (cohesiveness, springiness and resilience) properties reveal clear and statistically significant divides between the cooked properties of beef compared to plant-based burgers; (ii) moreover, hardness and chewiness yield statistically significant results able to distinguish between high beef content burgers (over 95%), low beef content burgers (below 81%) and plant-based alternatives, and thus, are best suited to characterise burger properties; and (iii) there exists key target values for cultivated meat products to replicate the mechanical and textural characteristics of farmed beef burgers, identified for the first time. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanical and textural characterisation of beef and plant-based burgers, and may contribute to future developments in cultivated meat to ensure consumer acceptance.