ALT Infographic on the chemistry of plant-based meat. The graphic highlights the different sources of plant protein that manufacturers use to make plant-based meat alternatives: legumes, cereals and grains, nuts and seeds, and fungi. Manufacturers then commonly use a process called high-moisture extrusion to cause plant proteins to unfold, aggregate, and cross-link, producing a layered and fibrous structure similar to that of real meat.
Manufacturers add plant extracts such as those from beets or purple carrots to improve the color of plant-based meat alternatives. Some manufacturers even add heme produced from genetically engineered yeast to make plant-based meat appear to bleed like real meat.
In meat, the Maillard reaction produces key flavor compounds. Manufacturers add yeast extract or hydrolyzed plant proteins to plant-based meat to give it the amino acids and sugars needed to produce similar flavor compounds.