Awarded in 2026
Home Department: Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Ellen Kuhl (Mechanical Engineering)
Title: The Texture Limit: Maximizing Plant Content in University Burgers
Abstract:
Modern food systems face a difficult challenge: how can we reduce meat consumption without asking people to give up the foods they enjoy? Our preliminary studies at Stanford show that many university students remain reluctant to choose fully plant-based burgers, even when sustainability benefits are clear. This project explores a practical middle ground: blended proteins.
Instead of replacing meat entirely, blended proteins combine smaller amounts of beef with plant-based ingredients such as mushrooms, pea protein, and fava bean protein. Even modest blending could create a large environmental impact. For example, replacing one person’s burger with a plant-based alternative removes one burger’s worth of beef. But adding 25% plant ingredients into every burger served in a dining hall reduces beef use across thousands of meals each day, without requiring anyone to change what they order.
This project asks a simple but important question: how much plant material can we add before people notice an unacceptable change in texture or taste? To answer this question, we will create burgers and meat sauces with different blend ratios ranging from 20% to 50% plant content. We will then measure their physical properties using mechanical texture testing and conduct blinded taste tests with students and staff in Stanford dining halls.
The work combines food science, nutrition, mechanical engineering, sensory science, and sustainability research. By identifying the texture limit for blended proteins, the project aims to provide dining halls with practical guidance for serving foods that are healthier for people and better for the planet while still meeting consumer expectations. Successful outcomes could help universities and other institutions reduce meat consumption at large scale through small, realistic dietary changes that people are willing to adopt.
