Applications of various natural pigments to a plant-based meat analog

To imitate the color of meat after cooking, natural pigments (red beet, monascus red, oleoresin paprika, sorghum, and cacao) were applied to a plant-based meat analog patty (PBMA). The target color ranges (external- and internal-cooked) for PBMA were set separately by evaluating the color values (L*, a*, and b*) of a Hanwoo (Korean native cattle) beef rib patty (HR). As a result of adding different levels of each pigment, the PBMA with cacao (1.0 mg/g) and sorghum (3.0–4.0 mg/g) pigments matched the external- and internal-cooked target ranges, respectively; however, adding a single pigment to PBMA insufficiently mimicked the external- and internal-cooked target ranges. To overcome the above limitations, red beet and cacao pigments were selected, and the color values of the PBMA with these pigments were optimized using response surface methodology. We obtained the optimized mixing ratio (0.4–1.5 mg/g of red beet and 1.1–1.3 mg/g of cacao pigments) and the sensory evaluation showed the color of PBMA with optimum pigments was most similar to HR, increasing appearance, overall acceptability, and purchase intention. These findings suggested that the cooked meat color can be mimicked by applying natural pigments to PBMA.