Il progress runs fast, not only the technological one with artificial intelligence, but also the one in the field feed. To the long list of innovations and trends that have recently taken center stage in the world of catering, such as cricket flour or milk created in the laboratory, a new phenomenon is added, that of 3D printed meat, which has recently attracted the attention of many.
Where to eat 3D printed meat in Italy?
The only one to produce these plant-based cuts of meat is Israeli Redefine Meat and in Italy it is already possible to taste them. In fact, about two months ago it opened in Rome ImpactFood, a "sustainable steakhouse" that offers only plant-based dishes: from nuggets to burgers from Beyond Meat (based on pea protein and coconut), until croquettes of Heura, passing through the bucatini al ragù-non-ragù, the restaurant located in the Parioli area offers only plant-based products, among which we find precisely the meat produced by the Israeli start-up, specialized in the production of legume-based steaks and hamburgers, cereals, vegetable fats, flavourings, natural colors and water. These ingredients, the company says, are used instead of ink for a 3D printer capable of reproducing - those who have tasted it say "very faithful" - the appearance of real meat, even representing the veins of bovine fat.
Redefine Meat products, served in 3 European restaurants (about fifteen throughout Italy, including five in Milan and two in Rome, including Smash Burger by Joe Bastianich), have landed in our country thanks to a distribution agreement with Giraudi Meats, an importer specializing in high-end cuts of meat such as Angus steaks or Kobe beef.
What does Redefine Meat use?
Redefine Meat uses tons ingredients, among the main ones, pea proteins - easy to grow and an excellent solution also for those allergic to soy -, coconut, cocoa butter, potato starch and yeasts. Gluten, cholesterol and Omg free.
But if the taste it is fundamental, even the eye wants its part. Fillets, strips and hamburgers are in fact obtained with a print capable of replicating the muscular structure of the bovine, including the marbling in the different types of cuts.
How much does 3D printing meat cost?
At the moment the only obstacle remains the price. The most expensive cut is sold at $50 a kilo. And as the CEO of Redefine Meat, Ben-Shitrit, underlined: “Our goal today is not to work to lower the price but rather to increase the quality of flavor and texture even further”.
Not just meat, soon 3D printed fish too
Another Israeli food technology company announced that it has 3D printed the first fish fillet ready to cook, using animal cells grown and grown in the laboratory. We are talking about Steakholder Foods which has collaborated with Umami Meats of Singapore, to produce fillets by extracting the cells (for now from the grouper) and transforming them into muscles and fat, which in turn are added to a "bio-ink" suitable for special printers 3D. Currently cell cultivation alone is still too expensive: for this reason the fish cells extracted from the grouper have been diluted with ingredients of vegetable origin.
Where can you buy this printer?