3D printed beef from beans and algae has the texture of real meat

Nova Meat has created a plant-based steak made from beans and algae, but with the same fibrous texture as real beef thanks to 3D printing technology.

The start-up unveiled its meat alternative at Mobile World Congress this week, where Mirror Online obtained a sample of the printing process.

The basic mixture is made from rice, beans and algae, and is fed into a 3D printer.

During printing, the microfibers in the paste align like muscle fibers in real beef.

This alignment gives the steaks a real beefy texture, even though they have no meat at all.

The printing process takes about 3 minutes, during which time layers of the mixture are carefully printed in the shape of a steak.

During the test print, Giuseppe Scionti, founder of Nova Meat, printed a steak, before putting it on a hot grill.

Surprisingly, this steak behaved just like real beef, quickly turning a deep brown color.

When the steak was done, Scionti cut it in half, and inside there was a distinct fibrous texture of meat.

Nova Meat hopes this plant-based steak will encourage more people to cut down on the amount of meat they eat.