KFC and Beyond Meat launched plant-based chicken at an Atlanta location in August 2019 and announced ... [+]
What is really inside that plant-based burger? Many recipes rely on complex layers of flavor and texture engineering that are designed to fit together like a Rube Goldberg machine. It’s what makes some vegan bacon sizzle when it hits the griddle and shrink up as it browns. “It’s a very high-tech product, honestly,” says chief global flavorist Marie Wright, who oversees one of the world’s largest flavor businesses at publicly traded Archer Daniels Midland. “These burgers, in some ways they're highly processed because you wouldn't be able to take pea protein from a pea and just, you know, miraculously make it into something that tastes like meat.”
The flavoring and fragrances industry is notoriously opaque, and these formulas are kept closely guarded, with top consultants rarely disclosing their clients. But as these much-hyped foods join more menus—just this week Impossible Foods announced it would launch across Disney parks while Beyond Meat disclosed it snagged a much-coveted test in Starbucks’ Canadian stores—it’s important to understand the details of how they are actually made. “2019 was a pivotal year,” Wright says. “Now everybody's talking about plant-based this, that, and the other.”
Wright, who has created more than 1,000 individual flavor profiles for major food and beverage companies over her career, offered to explain how these foods are designed.
Chief Global Flavorist Marie Wright is pictured with some of her culinary team members at ADM’s ... [+]
Forbes: I understand there’s really complex flavor science that goes into turning these commodities and proteins into a burger or a KFC nugget. What can you tell us about how it works?
Wright: That's where we're in a very advantageous position, because we have had many years of experience in it. If you think about the challenges, obviously some of these plant proteins like soy, although they are relatively clean-tasting versus what they were perhaps 10 years ago, they do have challenges with their taste profile. Then there's the functionality—being able to produce a texture that's very similar to a chicken nugget or a meat product. We make flavors, colors, protein, healthy ingredients, probiotics, prebiotics, you name it. Being a very large player, we obviously work with the large players. All these capabilities come together to produce a complete solution.
Forbes: So what’s the secret to flavoring these proteins correctly?
Wright: The flavor interacts in a way with the protein components that we have to be aware of. We're not trying to cover or mask a flavor. You have to use a complimentary flavor. That's the only way it's going to work. We want to be able to make a clean-tasting protein that we can really flavor in any direction.
Forbes: Do you mostly use powders? What’s the mechanics of how it all comes together?
Wright: I can share a little bit. For example, with the protein, you're wanting to extrude it. The extrusion process helps with the texture. During extrusion you can add the flavor and they bind really nicely when they're in that form. Sometimes things are just in powders and you're just blending different powders. For flavoring, we’re mainly using liquids. It's about really understanding how to flavor. It's not like a flavored water where there's really no or very little other ingredients that interfere with the delivery of the taste. You have to add the different components of flavor so that they function in the right way.
Forbes: What’s a common problem that can arise when you’re formulating?
Wright: When the product's uncooked, we could put a flavor in and it tastes great, but how is it when it’s cooked? To make it actually perform that same way, you're really building the structure with all of the different elements of protein, fat and other ingredients that can make that happen. And to be honest, it's very clever but there’s no magic ingredient. It's just understanding how things interact with one another and getting the most out of that.
