The Meatball Matchup: Plant vs. Animal Proteins on Campus

Institutional dining halls increasingly serve plant-based meat products, yet it remains unclear how consumers perceive these products relative to animal-based options in real-world settings. This study compares consumer sensory perceptions of two plant-based meatballs (soy, soy-wheat) and two animal-based meatballs (beef, beef-mushroom) among university dining hall patrons (n = 116), complemented by instrumental Texture Profile Analysis. Animal-based meatballs received significantly higher ratings for moistness, meatiness, fattiness, and tastiness (all p < 0.001), with the meatiness gap being the largest ({Delta} = 1.40 on a 5-point scale). Texture analysis revealed that animal-based samples