Juiciness of plant-based meat analogues is driven by serum release rather than serum composition and viscosity

Juiciness and fattiness are key drivers of consumer acceptance for plant-based meat analogue (PBMA) patties. Previous studies showed that these attributes correlated strongly with the amount of released serum (expressible fluid) during mastication, while the role of serum properties remains unclear. This study aimed to reveal the effects of serum quantity, composition and viscosity on juiciness and fattiness of PBMA patties, identifying the main drivers for these sensory attributes. A factorial design (2 × 3 × 2) was used to systematically vary serum properties by varying raw patty formulations in hydration level of textured vegetable proteins (TVPs), fat and maltodextrin content. This resulted in patties which varied in quantity of serum release from 8 to 20 %w/w, and varied in serum water content from 29 to 85 %w/w, fat content from 12 to 65 %w/w, and serum viscosity from 6 to 360 mPa⋅s. As expected, juiciness and fattiness increased with increasing serum release. Systematic variation in serum viscosity and fat content allowed separation of their effects. Increasing serum viscosity alone did not affect juiciness and fattiness. Fattiness rose with increasing serum fat content, while juiciness remained unaffected. Fat thus contributed to those mouthfeel attributes not only through its effect on viscosity, but potentially also through other effects, such as lubrication. These results showed that juiciness and fattiness arise from different mechanisms. Juiciness of PBMA patties was primarily driven by the quantity of serum released upon compression rather than serum composition and viscosity, while fattiness was influenced by both serum quantity and fat content.