Is that chicken? The Taste of ‘Cell-cultivate’ Meat in the First Bite

People’s initial reaction when I informed them I was reporting on the first chicken flesh produced from animal cells was “Eww.” “How does it taste?” was their second remark. Tastes like chicken, is the succinct response (you’ve undoubtedly heard this statement before in various circumstances). The more detailed response is the lengthier one that includes the “Eww” reaction. Yes, it is bizarre to consider consuming a completely novel kind of meat — chicken that wasn’t raised by a chicken and will now be marketed as “cell-cultivated” chicken after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday approved the applications of two California-based companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat.

However, it’s also intriguing (and exciting!) to sample the first products of a new era in meat production, which aims to end the suffering of the billions of animals that are killed for food as well as significantly lessen the environmental impact of grazing, growing feed for those animals, and handling their waste.

OVERCOMING THE “MEAT PARADOX”

I’ve always been a meat eater. The “meat paradox,” which psychologists refer to as the psychological struggle experienced by those who like eating meat but find it upsetting to think about the animals who perished to provide it, also affects me.

I am well aware that the chicken on my dinner plate undoubtedly went through some pain to get there since I have written about outbreaks of food-borne disease and slaughterhouse safety. And if I think about that truth too much, it makes me uncomfortable.

I was thus willing to try a novel sort of meat and interested to discover whether it would taste authentic.

Even though I didn’t believe they were great alternatives, I’ve tried plant-based choices like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat sausage and loved them. The Beyond Meat sausage did taste excellent, although it was a touch mealy. The Impossible Burger was also dry, but I think I may have overcooked it. I liked the flavor of the items in both instances, but I was still conscious that I wasn’t truly consuming pig or beef.

What about everything being so artificial? I didn’t mind that this new cultivated meat is created from cells that expand to enormous sizes in large steel vats, only to be shaped and formed — “extruded” is the somewhat unfortunate word that came to mind — into recognizable cutlets, filets, and nuggets that would look right at home on the dinner table.

But ultimately, it would come down to taste, just as with any meals. And in this instance, to the main query: Is this new material really chicken, or is it a forgery?

IT’S TIME FOR THE ESSENTIAL MOUTH TEST.

I visited the Upside Foods production facility in Emeryville, California, in January. There, chef Jess Weaver sautéed a raised chicken breast with tomatoes, capers, and green onions in a white wine butter sauce.

Just as any filet fried in butter would be, the scent was alluring. The flavor was mild and delicate, and the texture was supple, much like any chicken breast I’d prepare at home if I were a chef with Culinary Institute of America training.

I went to the factory in Alameda, California, where Good Meat will soon start producing its chicken products, last week. A smoked chicken salad with mayonnaise, golden raisins, and walnuts was available from chef Zach Tyndall. He then offered a chicken dish called “thigh” that included darker flesh served over potato puree with a mushroom-vegetable demi-glace, golden beets, and small purple cauliflower florets.

The flavor resembled the dark flesh of a thigh more than a chicken breast and was richer. In addition, the texture was just right—tender and chewy, like a well cooked chicken thigh ought to be.

According to Tyndall, it is the entire idea.

For it to be popular, “it needs to be as lifelike as possible,” he added.

Although “lifelike” is an intriguing term, in my opinion, this will become popular. If you’re basing it on real flavor, I’ll leave you with this: There are still enormous obstacles to overcome, including how to scale up production and reduce prices, according to experts, and the nagging issue of whether chicken without the bird is, in fact, chicken.