Does cooking ability affect consumer perception and appreciation of plant-based protein in Bolognese sauces?

Abstract

Encouraging consumers to reduce their meat consumption is imperative in mitigating climate change effects related to the food industry. For some, transitioning away from meat may be facilitated by meat substitutes. However, these are not always accepted as suitable alternatives to meat due to a combination of psychological, situational, and sensorial aspects. The influence of factors such as cooking ability on hedonics and sensory discrimination of meat and meat substitutes is currently under-researched. The present study investigated such effects. Consumers (N = 101) of varying cooking ability and food neophobia (measured using questionnaires) tasted and evaluated six mince products (one beef and five meat substitutes – three soybean-based, one mycoprotein-based, and one oat-based) prepared in a Bolognese sauce. They rated liking for overall, appearance, aroma, taste/flavour, and texture, and profiled the products sensorially using check-all-that-apply (CATA). It was found that meat substitutes can be liked just as much as, if not more than, beef in the application of Bolognese sauce. No main effects of cooking ability were found for any modality of liking, though an interaction between cooking ability and sample was found for liking of flavour/taste. Consumers’ ability to sensorially discriminate between the Bolognese sauces was not dependent on their cooking ability. Several attributes that contributed to (dis)liking were identified. An additional online sample (N = 288) completed only the cooking ability and food neophobia questionnaires. A negative relationship was detected between cooking ability and food neophobia for the combined consumer and online datasets (total N = 389).