To speak technically,
transubstantiation is no more
literal than
consubstantiation; rather, the whole argument has to do with how the
Christ nature and the Bread/Wine nature "share each other."
In
transsubstantiation, the bread and wine are truly
transformed into the
Body and Blood of Christ. That is what they
are. But of course it still looks/smells/tasks like bread and wine, so they retain their original appearance. People have tried to disprove
transusbstantiation by looking at a host under a microscope; nice try.
God is smarter than that :-).
In
consubstantiation, after the
consecration, the bread and wine are truly, literally, the Body and Blood of Christ. They are, at the same time, also bread and wine (
Catholics believe this ceases to be). They are
consubstantial.
While many Catholics don't believe in transubstantiation, it is a binding belief on all the faithful, and they are supposed to try. Consubstantiation, while still believed by many Lutherans, is not what
most of the Lutherans I know believe -- but they have no binding beliefs, I guess.