For the first time, faux meat is available to the general public in places like grocery shops and restaurants. There will probably certainly be more alternatives in the near future. Plant-based ingredients optimized for 3D printing meat substitutes were developed in a study published in the journal ACS Food Science & Technology by one team. Adding cocoa butter, a byproduct of the cocoa bean, was essential to their most successful formulations.

Animal welfare and environmental sustainability are just two of the many reasons why people avoid eating animal products. There are already many meat substitutes that rely on soy and wheat-based proteins since they have a similar texture and nutritional value to meat. However, none of the present formulations include proteins from these specific plants, despite the fact that 3D printing for meat replacements has already been tested. So, Songbai Liu and Shanshan Wang set out to find a way to make a beef “dough” using soy and wheat protein that could be created effectively using a 3D printer.

Researchers used a 3D printer to test soy and wheat proteins in a variety of combinations. Their creations were judged on how well the dough was able to be placed down by the printer and how well it maintained its shape. Additionally, they looked at the microstructure and surface texture of the specimen. Testing found that emulsifier Tween-80 and sodium alginate, as well as other texture-regulating substances, are critical.

After printing, cocoa butter hardened at room temperature, allowing the dough to retain its printed shape. The heat-sensitive cocoa butter was a particularly crucial element. However, persons with allergies to wheat gluten or celiac disease will be unable to consume the new substitutes because they are intolerant to these ingredients. The researchers tried replacing the soy protein with pea protein, but the resulting dough was too soft for printing. A new technique for making meat substitutes using this adaptable technology has been discovered by the researchers.

National Key Research and Development, Zhejiang Public Welfare Technology Research Program, Qinghai Science and Technology Program, and Foundation of Fuli Institute of Food Science at Zhejiang University have provided financial support for this research.