Tenderness in meat and meat alternatives: Structural and processing fundamentals.

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Materials Science
• Consumer Science

Background:

• Growing consumer demand for plant-based meat alternatives necessitates research into their texture.
• Tenderness is a critical attribute influencing consumer acceptance of meat alternatives.
• Existing knowledge of meat tenderness provides a foundation for understanding plant-based products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically review and discuss meat and meat alternative tenderness.
• To explore structural origins, influencing factors, and analytical methods for tenderness.
• To identify opportunities for novel tenderization techniques in plant-based foods.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and critical discussion.
• Comparative analysis of meat and meat alternative tenderness.
• Exploration of extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting texture.

Main Results:

• Meat tenderness is influenced by pre-slaughter factors, post-slaughter proteolysis, and processing.
• Plant-based meat tenderness can be tailored via ingredient selection and extrusion parameters.
• Post-processing methods for meat can be adapted, but require further investigation for alternatives.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive understanding of meat tenderness is transferable to plant-based alternatives.
• Optimizing extrusion and post-processing is crucial for enhancing meat alternative tenderness.
• Further research is needed to develop novel tenderization strategies for sustainable meat alternatives.