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In 2021, Israeli startup Redefine Meat plans to launch a 3D printer that will allow customers to produce plant-based flank steak at home. Engadget reports:
Redefine Meat says that through 3D printing, it’s able to create plant-based meat with the same “appearance, texture and flavor of animal meat,” according to its website. Texture specifically seems to be the 3D printer’s hallmark achievement. “You need a 3D printer to mimic the structure of the muscle of the animal,” Redefine Meat CEO Eshchar Ben-Shitrit told Reuters.
3D printing differs from other methods companies have used for reproducing meat taste and texture. Both Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat use combinations of plant-based proteins, oils and binders, like methylcellulose and potato starch, to achieve a realistic texture for their ground beef and patties – though the texture of ground beef is arguably easier to achieve than that of steak. Atlast Food uses mushroom fibers to emulate animal tissue in its meatless bacon.