You can make the same flavors without the animal

The flavors people love in meat come from plants

Most of the flavor in meat dishes comes from salt, herbs, spices and umami-rich plants, and those seasonings work on plant foods too. Tofu has been eaten in place of meat for more than 2,000 years, and in blind tests the best plant-based meats score as well as or better than the animal versions.

Read full article →

Salt makes almost every food taste better, says the Institute of Medicine

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on cutting sodium says added salt improves the flavor of virtually every food people eat, even foods that would otherwise taste bad. Without it, food often tastes off. Salt is usually the bare minimum seasoning on meat.

Meat’s savory umami flavor is also in tomatoes and mushrooms

A 2024 review of umami in meat found that salt-curing and spices boost the savory compounds people associate with meat. It also names tomatoes and mushrooms as some of the best plant sources of glutamate, the main umami molecule.

Mushroom, tomato, and yeast extracts add “meaty” flavor

Wang and colleagues added mushroom, tomato, and yeast extracts to soup. Each extract boosted overall flavor, meaty flavor, saltiness, and umami, which is the job salt and MSG usually do. None of the extracts come from animals.

China has used tofu in place of meat since the Han dynasty

A 2022 review of Asian meat substitutes says China developed tofu as a standard stand-in for meat during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), and people ate it widely through the Tang dynasty. Replacing meat with plant protein is an ancient practice.

Tofu, tempeh, and seitan replaced meat long before supermarket brands

A 2021 review traces the first meat substitutes, tofu, tempeh, and wheat gluten (seitan, or miànjīn, literally “wheat meat”), to East and Southeast Asia. Some began as Buddhist vegetarian mock meats, centuries to millennia before today’s supermarket products.

Buddhism in China created demand for meat substitutes

FoodUnfolded’s short history says Han-dynasty tomb art is thought to show tofu being made, and Buddhism in China created demand for substitutes that copied meat’s flavors and textures. Tempeh came later in Indonesia, and wheat gluten in Chinese monastery kitchens.

China’s vegetarian fake meat is 1,000 years old

CNN Travel reports that Buddhist temple kitchens in China have served mock duck, mock pork, and mock fish made from tofu and gluten for centuries.

Nectar’s 2025 blind tests found some plant meats nearly indistinguishable from animal meat

Nectar ran blind restaurant tests with omnivores on 122 plant-based meats in 14 categories, and a product won if at least half the tasters scored it the same as or better than the animal version. Impossible and Beyond products made up most of the winners, and several products were nearly indistinguishable from the animal original. Not every product matched meat, but the ones designed to match it often did.

Four vegan products scored nearly the same as real meat in blind tests

Sentient Media reports on the Nectar tests, where four vegan products got scores nearly indistinguishable from real meat. The products that scored better on taste also sold more.

Knowing what was in the burger changed how people rated it

Consumers rated burgers made only of cow flesh, only of plants, or a mix of both. Their scores shifted when they knew what they were eating, so people’s preferences come partly from the label and not only from the taste.

Whether people like plant-based substitutes comes down to look, smell, taste, and texture

A 2023 systematic review found that plant-based substitutes now exist for meat, dairy, fish, and eggs. Whether people accept them depends on appearance, smell, taste, and texture, and all of those can be designed.