What is “rice meat”: Japanese scientists have invented a new product

Modern scientists not only develop new materials and technologies, but also create innovative products. You won’t surprise anyone with artificial meat anymore - there are restaurants ready to treat gourmets to beef and pork grown in vitro. But the Japanese went even further and invented “rice meat,” which combines plant and animal proteins.

The new dish looks like pink rice porridge. As for the taste, it is similar to regular beef and rice. Tasters said that unless you look at the plate, it's hard to tell that it's not what it tastes like. The technology for producing “rice meat” can hardly be called simple and generally accessible.

To create a rice-beef hybrid, muscle and fat stem cells from cows are transplanted into grains. After this, the resulting semi-finished product is sent to a special incubator. There, the “rice meat” takes 6 days to reach condition. Only after this the pink porridge with beef flavor is ready to eat.

Scientists believe that the new product has serious prospects. The product, nutritious and tasty, cannot yet be made available to the public due to complex production technology. But there are already plans to use “rice meat” in the diet of astronauts and military personnel. It can also save people in regions where there are serious food problems. It is much easier to transport and store such a product than separately rice and meat.

In the future, “rice meat” will be able to be produced in large volumes. Its creators believe that in the future its price will not exceed $2 per kilogram. Rice is a staple food in many countries. In regions with a suitable climate, there are no problems with growing this crop. But raising cattle is an activity that is inaccessible to many. It remains to add that the invention of scientists is absolutely safe for humans.