西班牙科學家3D打印“素食牛排” 賣相和味道一言難盡

Vegetarian steaks and chicken produced by a 3D printer are on the menu in Barcelona thanks to the efforts of an Italian scientist - but he admits more work is needed to make them look tasty on the plate.

在一名意大利科學家的努力下，用3D打印機制出的素食牛排和雞肉終於上了巴塞羅那的餐廳菜單——不過這位科學家承認，目前這種食品的賣相欠佳，還需繼續努力。

Giuseppe Scionti, a researcher from Milan, has developed the meat-free food using protein powder from rice or peas and components of seaweed.

來自米蘭的研究人員朱塞佩·西昂提用大米、豌豆中提取的蛋白粉和海藻成分爲原料研發出了這種不含肉的食品。

Using CAD software Mr Scionti designed a program to turn the food products, which are inserted into a machine using a syringe, into a long micro-filament which is then shaped into a steak.

西昂提用計算機輔助設計軟件設計出製作食品的程序，然後用注射器將原料注入3D打印機，將其拉成長長的微絲然後壓制成牛排的形狀。

The product, which begins life as a 'straw-colored paste', is said to have a similar texture to genuine steaks and is designed to combat the environmental effect of meat production.

這種產品的最初形態是“草莓色的麪糰”，據說和真牛排的質地相近，設計初衷是爲了抵制肉類生產對環境的危害。

The machine can produce almost a quarter of a pound of raw vegetarian steak in 30 to 50 minutes.

這種機器可以在30到50分鐘內生產出0.25磅素食生牛排。

Mr Scionti has also developed a chicken substitute, using the 3D printer to create what he calls a 'fibrous plant-based chicken'.

西昂提還研發出了雞肉替代品，用3D打印機制造出了所謂的“基於纖維植物的雞肉”。

The Italian researcher developed his 3D printing machine at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain.

這位意大利研究人員在西班牙巴塞羅那的加泰羅尼亞理工大學研發出了自己的3D打印機。

Mr Scionti said he had already approached restaurant owners about selling his vegetarian food to customers.

他說，他已經開始和一些餐館老闆洽談，讓餐館向顧客們出售自己的素食食品。

He said chefs were 'interested in something that looks like a steak but tastes like a mushroom'.

他說，廚師們“對這種看起來像牛排但吃起來像蘑菇的東西很感興趣”。

The scientist told MailOnline: 'We ate them with multiple journalists, and they thought that the plant-based prototypes possessed a animal meat-like texture.

這位科學家告訴每日郵報網站說：“我們和多位記者一起吃過這種牛排，記者們認爲這種基於植物的食品擁有動物肉一般的質感。”

'The taste of the first prototypes is good, but it does't mimic the taste of animal meat, yet.

“第一個原型的味道還行，但還不像動物肉。”

'However, that does not worry me, because the technologies to imitate the taste of animal meat have already been developed in the last years, while the main challenge for me was to obtain the animal meat-like consistency and texture, which was not invented yet.

“不過，我並沒有因此煩惱，因爲模仿動物肉味道的素食技術在過去幾年已經被研究出來了，而對我而言，主要挑戰在於保持動物肉般的稠度和質感，而這樣的技術尚未面世。”

'There is a great demand for hamburgers in the US, but in the Mediterranean area we usually prefer to eat a piece of actual fibrous meat, and not just products derived from minced meat.'

“在美國，人們對漢堡的需求量很大，但在地中海地區，我們一般更愛吃有纖維感的肉，而不是用絞碎的肉做出的產品。”

The ingredients were 'all natural, plant-based, non-GMO, and approved for food use anywhere in the world,' he said.

他說，該產品的成分是“純天然的、基於非轉基因植物並被覈准用於世界各地的食品中”。

He said he was aiming to reach the point where he could produce almost a quarter of a pound of plant-based meat in five to 10 minutes at a cost of less than 50 cents.

他表示，他的目標是在5到10分鐘內、用不到50美分的成本生產出0.25磅“素食肉”。

Mr Scionti said: We are getting closer to reaching Churchill's prediction in 1931, who said that "we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium".'

西昂提說，我們現在離丘吉爾1931年的預言越來越近，丘吉爾曾說過：“我們將不再爲了吃雞胸肉或雞翅而荒唐地飼養一整隻雞，而是將在合適的介質中分別飼養這些部位。”

The objective was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, which represent 14.5 percent of the total greenhouse emissions caused by man, he said.

西昂提說，最終目標是降低牲口產生的溫室氣體，這部分溫室氣體佔據了人類導致的溫室氣體總排放量的14.5%。

He said the steak needed more work to look like a regular item on a restaurant menu.

他還說，素食牛排還需進一步改進，才能看起來像餐廳菜單上的尋常菜品。

'Its appearance can be improved with an investment of time and new prototypes, since this aspect is very important from the consumer's point of view,' he told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

西昂提告訴西班牙《國家報》說：“牛排的外觀可以通過投入時間、研發新品來改進，因爲食品的賣相對消費者來說非常重要。”

He said the cost and time it currently takes to produce the steaks would fall when he started making them on a larger scale.

他說，等他開始大規模生產後，目前製作牛排所需的成本和時間都會下降。

A cook at the university said: 'They cook really well. They don't burn or stick to the pan.'

該大學的一名廚師說：“這種假牛排很好煎。它們不會燒焦，也不會粘鍋。”