Lab-grown meat has come a long way in terms of looking like recognisable dishes, but the flavour hasn’t always kept up. Now, Korean researchers say that might not be the case for much longer, after developing a ‘meaty flavour’ that can be released by cooking the food at certain temperatures. The team designed a temperature-responsive scaffold for the meat, where a switchable flavour compound is mixed into a gelatin base, and when heated up to high temperatures (above 150 °C), releases a tasty ‘meatiness’. But don’t go getting your cutlery out quite yet, because the authors haven’t actually chowed down on it, instead confirming the flavour using an electronic nose that chemically analysed its smell, suggesting it has a flavour profile similar to that of grilled beef.
Journal/conference: Nature Communications
Link to research (DOI): 10.1038/s41467-024-49521-5
Organisation/s: Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Funder: This research was supported by (1) the Korea Institute of Marine Science
& Technology Promotion (KIMST) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (RS-2024-00402200, J.H.) and by (2) the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) (RS-2024-00354178, J.H.).
Media release
From: Springer Nature
Improving the flavour of cultured meat A flavour-switchable scaffold that can release meaty flavour compounds at cooking temperatures may improve the taste of lab-grown meat, according to a Nature Communications paper. The findings could help to culture meat that better mimics the taste of conventional meat, such as cooked beef, the authors suggest.Cultured meat is emerging as a new food type that can provide animal protein in a sustainable way. Previous research has used various types of scaffolds and 3D materials to develop cultivated meat with similar shape and structural properties to those of traditional products, including steak and meatballs. However, flavour is often overlooked in meat cultivation strategies.Jinkee Hong and colleagues designed a temperature-responsive scaffold where a switchable flavour compound is incorporated into a gelatin-based hydrogel. The scaffold remained stable during the cell culture period but released meaty flavour compounds when cooking temperature was reached (above 150 °C), thereby replicating key chemical reactions of cooking conventional meat. According to chemical analyses, including the use of an e-nose (electric nose), the meat exhibited a flavour pattern similar to that of grilled beef.The findings suggest a potential method to enhance the aromatic properties of cultured meat and mimic the natural cooking flavours of beef.