From a filet mignon steak to a whole cut loin, fake meat maker Juicy Marbles has already released several vegan version of popular meats.
Now, the company has unveiled its third product – plant-based pork ribs with soy ‘bones’ that can be air-fried and eaten like pork scratchings.
Called ‘Bone-In’ Ribs, the product restores the ‘primal joy’ of eating meat off the bone for any vegetarians or vegans who miss the experience.
Unlike trendy slow cooking methods that take hours, the ribs can be cooked in the oven in about 15 minutes, according to Juicy Marbles.
The firm is yet to confirm the price of ‘Bone-In’ Ribs but like its past products it’s expected to be more than the real meat version.
‘Bone-In’ Ribs from Slovenian company Juicy Marbles has realistic ‘flesh’ and a bonus snack – edible ‘bones’
The firm says: ‘The bones are made out of nutritious plant-protein, meaning they can also be eaten’
A limited batch of ‘Bone-In’ Ribs has already sold out, but Juicy Marbles is aiming for a general release in 2024.
‘With so much surface to caramelize and rich fat throughout, every bite delivers that perfect combo of crispy, melt-in-your mouth crust and tender, juicy meat,’ says the firm, which is based in Slovenia.
‘The bones are made out of nutritious plant-protein, meaning they can also be eaten.
‘For a crispy snack with more protein than jerky, you can fry, bake or air-fry them.’
According to the Juicy Marbles website, the ‘Bone-In’ Ribs are made from soy protein, sunflower oil, salt and water, as well as red beet juice to give them a deep meaty colour.
But it doesn’t give the separate ingredients for the ‘bones’ and the ‘flesh’, which have two completely different consistencies, promo photos show.
MailOnline has contacted the firm for more information about how it made the product, which is suited for marinating just like real ribs.
During development work for the new product, staff had originally considered creating plant-based rib meat without the bones, before deciding it would be ‘just a pile of meat’.
‘Once we decided to go with bones, the first goal was to make them compostable, at least,’ the company said in a statement.
Unlike trendy slow cooking methods that take hours, ‘Bone-In’ Ribs can be cooked in the oven in about 15 minutes, according to the firm
According to the Juicy Marbles website, ‘Bone-In’ Ribs is largely made from soy protein, sunflower oil and water
‘But once we developed them from protein, we realised they could also be eaten.
‘We tried them raw and they didn’t taste so good, but once we sizzled them, they puffed up and we all enjoyed a crispy snack.’
Juicy Marbles sees its mission as developing plan-based imitations of meat that could be easily mistaken for the real thing.
In a recent Instagram post, it makes the point that not every person who becomes a vegan does so because they don’t like meat.
In fact, many vegans miss eating meat but have given it up because they’re conscious of their carbon footprint or want to improve their diet.
It’s well known among scientists that livestock farming is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, a diet heavy with red meat has been linked with health conditions including cancers, heart disease and diabetes.
But overall Juicy Marbles products are for anyone – even meat eaters who fancy something different for dinner.
With ‘Bone-In’ Ribs, the novelty aspect of eating bones is likely to draw interest from vegans and meat lovers alike.
Juicy Marbles already released the first plant-based filet mignon steak, with prominent lines of fat marbling made out of sunflower oil.
Juicy Marbles already released the first plant-based filet mignon steak , with prominent lines of fat marbling made out of sunflower oil. Juicy Marbles says on its website: ‘The experience is exquisite. The texture is firm, yet velvety’
Easily the best thing about the Juicy Marbles steak was the texture – the fake flesh just falls apart
Costing around £10 per steak when you buy a pack of four, the fake steak has a texture imitating fibres in beef tissue, resulting in juicy chunks that ‘softly tear away’.
In a review, MailOnline said: ‘I really don’t think many would be able to tell this “steak” is animal free – especially if you covered it in a hearty red wine jus or a peppercorn sauce.’
Last year, the firm released its second product – a 765g whole loin, priced at a hefty 45 euros (£40), which ‘bleeds’ due to the addition of water and beetroot.
To make its fake meat, the firm doesn’t use 3D printing, nor does it grow it in a lab using cells extracted from animals, unlike several rival firms.
Instead, it uses secretive patent-pending technology called the ‘Meat-o-Matic 9000’, which layers proteins into linear fibers, mimicking muscle structures.
Its unclear if this process has been involved in the creation of the new ribs.
