In plant-based meat substitutes, it's all about the flavors — how the ingredients interact to mimic the taste, mouthfeel and satiety that consumers crave and that conventional meat has naturally. That makes Ken Kraut more than the "chemist and an artist" that he describes himself as.
When working with a conventional meat product, the ingredients are an add-on. In plant-based proteins, they are the product. The complex interaction of fats, proteins, cellulose and other elements means that a flavorist such as ADM's Ken Kraut has to be capable of a particular kind of alchemy. Done right, it's pure alt-protein gold.
Recently Kraut took some time out of the lab to talk about his work with Alt-Meat News…