“3D打印肉”来了！可调节肥瘦比例，能打出“和牛肉”大理石纹

2022-10-08 08:10

最近，以色列一家初创企业推出新品“Omakase Beef Morsels”，一种用“培养肉”3D打印而成的牛肉。

Israeli company Steakholder Foods Ltd has unveiled their new product, Omakase Beef Morsels, which are bioprinted with cultured meat.

Omakase：一种日料烹饪方式，没有固定菜单，由主厨根据食材决定菜品和价格，“おまかせ”在日语中是“交给您了”的意思。

这款肉的灵感来源是日本和牛，后者以大理石花纹著称，价格昂贵。

The morsels are inspired by the world famous Wagyu beef, which is notable for its fat marbling patterns in the meat. It’s also very expensive.

morsel：少量，一小块
Wagyu beef：日本和牛，作为良种肉牛，多汁细嫩，风味独特

来源：央视网快看

该企业称其通过尖端的生物融合技术，与3D打印工程师和细胞生物学家通力合作，打造出了这款具有漂亮大理石纹的3D打印牛肉。

The company’s technology can print the product at scale to include the marbling that Wagyu beef is famous for, and comes as the “result of cutting-edge bio-convergence with intensive collaboration between its 3D-printing engineers and cellular biologists” according to the press release.

3D打印肉的诞生

伴着阵阵规律的“打印”声，托盘在装有红、白两色“墨水”的喷头间来回移动，丝丝缕缕的牛肉雏形由此诞生。无论是肥瘦、形状还是口感，都可以在程序上预先调整相应参数，实现个性化制作。

The muscle tissue and fat are printed from two separate bioinks. The layers of meat and fat can be reconfigured in different proportions to create different tasting experiences. A morsel can be made juicier, chewier, and the flavor can be altered also.

“培养肉”（cultured meat），又称“细胞培养肉”，以动物干细胞为基础，人工培育而成。首先要挑选肉质鲜美、适合量产的目标动物，提取干细胞。再将干细胞放入高营养培养液中，进行增殖。

The process works by first selecting the animals to extract the stem cells from. The cells are selected from animals that will provide the best meat and yield. The next step is proliferation, in which the cells are placed into a nutrient rich reactor to multiply.

增殖到一定数量后，干细胞会分化成肌肉细胞和脂肪细胞，也就是3D打印所需要的红、白“墨水”。“培养肉”新鲜出炉后，可以做成汉堡、牛排，甚至肉糕。

When the cells reach optimal numbers, the stem cells differentiate into muscle cells and fat cells. In the final steps, the muscle cells and fat cells are turned to meat, ready to be processed into the final product, be it a burger, a steak, or even a meatloaf.

图源：Steakholder Foods

为什么要3D打印肉

3D打印肉的卖相看似不错，可难免有人质疑：这种费时费力高成本的产品，有推广的必要吗？

研究人员给出了环保方面的答案：比起传统的肉类生产，培养肉能够减少对环境的恶劣影响。

Researchers suggest that lab-made beef is bound to reduce the environmental toll from conventional meat production methods.

图源：Metro

2019年，剑桥大学一项报告显示，相较于传统生产方式，由组织工程技术制作的“培养肉”可以降低96%的温室气体排放，降低45%的能源、99%的土地资源和96%的水资源消耗。

A 2019 report from the University of Oxford suggests "cultured meat" grown using tissue engineering techniques produces up to 96% less greenhouse gas emissions, 45% less energy, 99% lower land use, and 96% lower water use than the conventional process.

此外，培养肉还能减少畜牧和屠宰，有助于维护动物的权利和健康。