Vegan Steak Alternative to Debut This Weekend

A team of Dutch scientists from Wageningen University, TU Delft, the Pea Foundation, and the Vegetarian Butcher say they’ve developed a plant-based meat alternative that resembles the texture of steak. The new product uses cell technology—from sources such as pea protein, lupin, soy, pectin, and wheat gluten—to replicate the mouth feel of meat fibers that can produce a one-inch thick slab with a unique texture unlike seitan or lab-grown burgers. Currently called “the fibrous structure that can form the basis for a meat analogue,” Vegetarian Butcher co-founder Nikko Koffeman told Food Navigator that their target demographic is meat-eaters, it only requires a small machine for manufacutring, and that they hope to “offset the growing and unsustainable global demand for meat.” The team will debut its product this weekend at the Vegetarian Butcher’s recently crowd-funded “Plant-Based Plant” production facility in Breda, Netherlands.