Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

scienceillustrated.com.au | 41

Scientists have developed

a juicy vegetarian burger

Scientists from the Impossible Foods company have extracted a plant

molecule, which provides the plant-based meat with a real taste of blood.

Coconut oil: Replaces

the fat from the meat.

Wheat protein and

potato protein: Provide the

"meat" with structure,

juiciness, and proteins.

Xanthan gum:

Used as a

thickener.

Water, salt, and

yeast extract.

Soy protein isolate:

Counteracts dry meat.

Zinc: Primarily exists in meat,

so vegetarians often lack it.

Haem is the secret spice providing

plant burgers with the taste of

meat and colour. The molecule

consists of one iron atom attached

to porphyrin pigment. The iron

adds that distinct metallic taste to

blood. Haem is included in the

human body’s blood-carrying

haemoglobin protein, but scientists

have found a way to make

vegetarian haem from soybeans.

Haem makes up less than 1 % of

the ingredients of the burger.

Blood molecule

makes plant burger

taste of meat

SIMULATES

BLOOD TASTE

IN MEAT

mealworms, 10 hectares are required to

produce the same quantity of cattle protein.

Moreover, insects produce much less

ammonia and methane gas via defecation.

TASTE AN EXTINCT ANIMAL

Perhaps you hate the thought of having to

chew on artificial burgers or insects, but the

new protein sources could also involve brand

new culinary experiences.

Scientists do not only get ideas for the

cuisine of the future among existing animal

species. The possibility of poaching on the

preserves of Jurassic Park and reviving

extinct animal species could perhaps be

CARBON

OXYGEN

NITROGEN

IRON

HYDROGEN

realized by means of gene technology. In

2015, scientists from the US universities of

Harvard and Yale managed to use gene

modification to create a chicken embryo with

a dinosaur snout instead of a beak.

With the existence of preserved museum

pieces of other extinct species such a the

dodo, it is reasonable to imagine that

scientists could sequence the complete

genome of the bird.

When combined with stem-cell

technology, the animal’s meat could

theoretically be recreated in the lab, paving

the way for exotic specialities such as dodo

nuggets or mammoth steaks in the future.

IMPOSSIBLE FOODS

PLANT-BASED MEAT