Discovery of flavouring compounds to substitute fatty and tallow characteristics in plant‐based patties

Summary Plant‐based meat substitutes have greatly improved in recent years in texture and flavour; however, they still lack the authentic fatty and tallow flavour notes associated with meat. To investigate what may be lacking in these products, charred beef was prepared, extracted and analysed in depth, to discover novel high‐impact volatile molecules of sensory value for improved flavour application in plant‐based meat substitutes. Beef was prepared by charring on a grill and extracted by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and solvent‐assisted flavour evaporation (SAFE). The extracts were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), respectively, which showed the results of 209 volatile compounds and 21 targeted amino acids in the cooked beef. Using GC‐Olfactometry, five compounds were postulated, synthesised and sensorially evaluated to find their optimal use concentrations. Of particular interest were 3‐(methylthio)‐alkanals, some of which had not previously been reported in natural products. A model meat flavour was evaluated with and without 3 of these fatty, tallow compounds at optimal dosage use, when applied to soy and pea protein patties, respectively. Sensory and statistical data analysis showing the resulting organoleptic improvements are also presented. Novel tallow molecules from charred beef, shown to statistically improve plant protein patties.