With mounting evidence that eating excessive amounts of meat can have health and environmental ramifications, more athletes are trying to reduce their consumption of animal-based foods and increase their intake of plant-based ones. But it’s hard to bid adieu to the beloved taste of meats like a perfectly cooked steak or juicy beef burger, which is why plant-based imitation “meats” continue to gain popularity as a feasible way for someone to reduce animal product consumption while still checking the boxes of taste and convenience.
While traditional meat substitutes such as tofu and tempeh have been around for centuries, technological advancements, such as protein isolation, have made it possible to develop meat alternatives that more closely resemble the taste, texture and color (hello, beet juice and blood red soy leghemoglobin) of actual meat. Gone are the days of veggie burgers that taste like salty cardboard. Instead, it’s a new era of meatless patties that are just as juicy and plump as the real deal. Food scientists are even experimenting with a process known as microgelation to give plant proteins…
