(310b) Achieving Meat-like Texture in Plant-Based Analogues through Chaotic 3D Printing

Bovine meat is one of the preferred sources of protein around the world due to its remarkable nature. Meat exhibits a high density of high-quality protein, is well-balanced in essential amino acids, and has a very distinctive set of textural and flavor attributes. However, traditional methods of meat production have been heavily criticized for their poor sustainability, particularly in terms of land and water use, and for being a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The fabrication of plant-based meat analogues has been proposed as a more sustainable alternative, and many commercial embodiments have emerged in the past five years. Despite this, consumer acceptance of these products has been lower than expected, primarily due to dissatisfaction with their organoleptic attributes.

In this study, we demonstrate the use of printheads equipped with Kenics static mixers (KSMs) (Figure 1A) capable of inducing chaotic flows (i.e., chaotic food printing) to fabricate plant-based meat analogues with a highly organized and aligned microstructure that resembles the layers of protein, fat, and connective tissue in real bovine meat. We employed 3D-printed chaotic printheads—tubes containing four KSM elements, two top inlets, and one side inlet—to coextrude three highly viscous pastes emulating the main components of meat: protein fibers, fat, and connective tissue. The protein ink was based on pea protein and methylcellulose, the fatty ink on coconut oil and methylcellulose, and the third on konjac and methylcellulose.

To coextrude these high-viscosity pastes, we developed a food printer (Figure 1B) using high-torque stepper motors coordinated by an Arduino-based controller, synchronized with an x-y-z positioning system derived from a commercial plastic filament 3D printer. Using this lab-made printer and chaotic printheads, we produced a plant-based analogue with an internal architecture closely resembling the fibrillar structure and textural properties of real bovine meat cuts. This chaotic food printer can print 2 kg of plant-based meat per hour, exceeding the throughput of traditional cattle raising by two orders of magnitude.

The printed plant-based meat was characterized in terms of bromatology aspects, mechanical properties, cooking performance, and organoleptic attributes (texture, flavor, color, among others) (Figure 1C). A comparative analysis between real meat and this 3D-printed meat analogue (prepared in two different presentations) is presented and discussed.

Overall, this 3D printing process enables the development of a highly organized, layered, and micro-architected product that closely resembles the texture of soft meat and effectively mimics the perception of meat fibers to a trained panel of tasters. Chaotic printing allows for the creation of plant-based meat analogues that are perceived as highly acceptable by consumers and closely resembling real bovine meat in terms of palatability.