Weird Meat

Oh the things they do to soybeans. This here is a fine example of what is called a "meat analogue", a term used for food that approximates the aesthetic qualities and/or chemical characteristics of certain types of meat. This particular specimen is a product of Taiwan and is soy and sesame oil flavored. The characteristic that comes closest to approximating the aesthetic quality of an actual cooked chicken is it's texture. That is, slightly overcooked, all white-meat chicken texture. That being said, I must report that it was surprisingly NOT as disgusting as I feared. However, I will not recommend it, nor will I eat it again voluntarily.



Fascinating, fascinating, these efforts to approximate animal flesh. How DO they get that fibrous texture? Preliminary research reveals that this soybean based product is a type of Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP), produced possibly through a process called extrusion cooking. Production of TVP uses as its starting point the byproduct of soybean oil manufacturing. After the soybeans have had the oil removed from them, the meal is ground into flour and water added to form a dough. This dough is cooked in an extruder. Upon exiting the die, superheated steam escapes as well, rapidly producing an expanded, spongy, yet fibrous matrix that is similar to the texture of meat. TVP is high in protein and can be low in fat.

The world of soy processing is vast and varied, and I am but a humble blogger, so I hesitate to say with certainty that this is the origin of my fine unfeathered friend. They may do business differently in Taiwan. If you must know, you would do well to attend the 11th Annual Practical Short Course on Texturized Vegetable Protein & Other Soy Products in August. It will be in Texas.

Moving on but staying close to the subject of weird meat, have you heard about in vitro meat??? That's right, animal muscle tissue cultured in controlled environments for the purpose of human consumption. Any kind of animal muscle tissue is a potential source of cells for production...even human. Why? So that animals won't be killed, so that water and energy used to raise animals for their flesh will be conserved, so that animal farts will contribute less to global warming. PETA last year announced a $1 million prize for the first company to bring lab-grown chicken meat to consumers by 2012. At this very moment, scientists (although not many) are scurrying about, science-ing their own little pieces of the puzzle. Last year they met in Norway at the first international In Vitro Meat Consortium.

What are the great challenges in the field? One researcher, whose work involves producing cultured tissues into mass-produced forms like sheets, believes the technology is doable, but that what stands between the world and shmeat are production models, production facilities, venture capital — and consumer demand.

Interesting, eh? I will point you in the direction of several sources for learning more:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90235492
http://www.futurefood.org/in-vitro-meat/index_en.php
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=test-tube-pork
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat