First of three parts
Our society will be faced with many decisions regarding our future food consumption. Having been raised on a farm where we produced our own meats and vegetables, it was a seemingly healthy lifestyle. We fed our animals grains and hay which we harvested and then after the animals consumed these healthy products their waste products were used to fertilize the land. It was a natural process.
Now, a concerned grocery shopper will read the labels and then decide its value. If taste is our only objective we could be making bad choices.
Rina Raphael of FastCompany visited Beyond Meat’s analytical lab in Los Angeles, and wrote about her experiences:
“‘This is our E-tongue,’ explained Parker Lee, lead scientist of Beyond Meat’s analytical lab.
“The young scientist stands by a sleek, two-foot compactor that squishes Beyond Meat’s burgers to test for chewiness, juiciness, and elasticity. A mechanical arm increases and decreases pressure to examine whether the mouthfeel replicates what you might experience at, say, an In-N-Out.
“With each lever, the plant-based non-meat patty oozes–then bursts with blood orange-colored juice. The question: Can they further delay the bursts? Or make the texture a bit softer, without expensing firmness?
“‘We’re always trying to improve our products,’ said Lee as he swaps in a fresh patty to meet its fate in the E-tongue.
“‘The chew is a subtle, but key element in the eating experience of meat. Beyond Meat uses an ‘E-mouth’ to precisely measure the density of its products and resulting chew required to match beef.
“‘I am getting an exclusive look at the updated Beyond Meat R&D lab in El Segundo, Calif.. Here, dozens of scientists don white coats stitched with ‘The future of protein’ logos. The 26,000-square-foot facility features every machine, gadget, and gizmo dedicated to solving one question: How can we mimic meat? And more importantly, how do we make it look, feel, and taste like the real thing?’
“Beyond Meat is no longer the small startup competing against the humble black bean burger. The plant-based meat substitute-maker has sold 13 million burgers since its 2016 debut and just last week admitted it is having trouble meeting demand after multiple Whole Foods stores ran out. Besides the market chain, Beyond Meat sells at Amazon Fresh and 20,000 other grocery retailers–as well as 10,000 restaurants, hotels, and universities.
“Several cultural trends led to Beyond Meat’s success, but so has its commitment to tweaking its collection of ready-to-cook products. So, it makes sense the brand would need a space to reach its ultimate purpose–namely, to get even meatier.
“The entire El Segundo operation dedicates itself to flavor, aroma, appearance, and texture. Every day, a team of scientists essentially share one job: to discover how ingredients such as peas or fava beans can become an alternative to cows and other animals.
“‘Everything here is an investment toward that goal of making it indistinguishable,’ said founder and CEO Ethan Brown.’
“In Beyond Meat’s analytical lab, scientists work to identify the signature aroma molecules of meat, and then source those same molecules from simple, non-GMO, plant-based ingredients.
“The meat machines: Lee, a macromolecular scientist, previously made medical devices for cancer patients–today, he uses his scientific background to replace animal cartilage with garden produce. This in no way strikes him as strange. ‘It’s all science,’ he said.
“The same goes for Jonny Gordon, Beyond Meat’s color lab scientist. A chemist with no prior food science experience, he now runs a research facility whose sole job is to improve the color of substitute meat.
“His lab coat splashed with beet stains, he plays with a variety of fruits and vegetables–blending them together in a more sci-fi version of a Vitamix. The contents are then powderized in what looks like a cotton candy machine. This despite the brand’s patties already exhibiting a very realistic pink. It even turns brown during the cooking process.
“Here in the color lab, Beyond Meat extracts juice from raw beets and transforms it into a concentrated powder colorant.”
Continued next week