It’s Complicated: Maillard, Umami and Flavor Complexity Are Not Key Factors in Liking of Gray Pea Burgers in a Real Consumption Context

TL;DR

A study found that adding umami or Maillard flavors to pea burgers didn't improve customer liking in a restaurant setting.

Contribution

The study empirically tested the impact of umami, Maillard reaction, and flavor complexity on liking of plant-based burgers in a real-world context.

Findings

Adding monosodium glutamate or Maillard reaction had limited impact on customer liking of pea burgers.

Flavor complexity did not significantly improve willingness to buy plant-based dishes.

Cultural barriers may be more important than sensory factors in promoting vegetarian food.

Abstract

Literature suggests that umami, Maillard reaction, and flavor complexity could contribute to sensorial acceptability of plant-based alternatives, but that was yet to be tested. Two field studies with 612 paying customers evaluating a complete meal were conducted in an operating restaurant in Sweden. In the first study, a gray pea burger (Control) was compared to burgers with added monosodium glutamate (MSG) (Umami), grilled (Maillard), or both grilled and added MSG (Complex). In the second study, a simplified gray pea burger (Control 2) was compared to a grilled burger with MSG and aromatics (Complex 2). Check-all-that-apply (CATA) tests show that participants perceived sensory differences between the samples, but their effects in hedonic ratings were inconclusive; only the Maillard sample was significantly more liked than Control and Complex burgers in Study 1. Although limited to their variables and context, these two experiments indicate that umami, Maillard reaction, and complexity, per se, are not key factors to improve liking and willingness to buy (WTB) of plant-based dishes. These results suggest that rather than trying to emulate sensory characteristics considered associated with meat, future research could prioritize addressing cultural barriers to vegetarian food.

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