DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-100-6-0173

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION, PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND SENSORY PROFILE OF MEAT AND PLANT-BASED BURGERS

Ivica Kos1, Veronika Mihovilić1, Ivan ©irić1, Ivan Vnučec1
1 University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetoąimunska 25, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia


This study compared commercially available plant-based (PB) and meat burgers (MB) on the Croatian market in terms of nutritional composition, cooking-induced physical properties, and sensory profile. Nutritional data were obtained from product labels, physical changes during standardised grilling were measured, and sensory characteristics were evaluated using quantitative descriptive analysis. PB had a lower energy value (217 vs 263 kcal·100 g⁻¹) and substantially less saturated fat (2.8 vs 8.23 g·100 g⁻¹) than MB, while MB contained more protein (17.1 vs 14.3 g·100 g⁻¹). Carbohydrate and fibre contents were higher in PB, whereas salt content was similar between categories. During cooking, PB showed greater thickness stability (5.40% vs 11.64% reduction) but higher relative mass loss (24.32% vs 22.63%), indicating limited water-binding capacity. Sensory analysis revealed distinct profiles: MB were characterised by greater firmness, cohesiveness, oily mouthfeel, and meat flavour, while PB had a softer texture and dominant vegetable-related attributes. Plant-based burgers differ fundamentally from meat burgers in nutritional composition, cooking behaviour, and sensory profile, supporting their classification as distinct products rather than direct substitutes for meat burgers.

Keywords: burger, plant-based, nutritional composition, sensory analysis, thermal processing, meat analogues

pages: 173-180, online: 2026



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