Vegetarian¹ 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.

在一名意大利科学家的努力下，用3D打印机制出的素食牛排和鸡肉终于上了巴塞罗那的餐厅菜单——不过这位科学家承认，目前这种食品的卖相欠佳，还需继续努力。

Giuseppe Scionti, a researcher from Milan, has developed the meat-free food using protein powder from rice or peas and components² of seaweed.

来自米兰的研究人员朱塞佩·西昂提用大米、豌豆中提取的蛋白粉和海藻成分为原料研发出了这种不含肉的食品。

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.

西昂提用计算机辅助设计软件设计出制作食品的程序，然后用注射器将原料注入3D打印机，将其拉成长长的微丝然后压制成牛排的形状。

The product, which begins life as a 'straw-colored paste', is said to have a similar texture³ to genuine steaks and is designed to combat the environmental effect of meat production.

这种产品的最初形态是“草莓色的面团”，据说和真牛排的质地相近，设计初衷是为了抵制肉类生产对环境的危害。

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

这种机器可以在30到50分钟内生产出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'.

西昂提还研发出了鸡肉替代品，用3D打印机制造出了所谓的“基于纤维植物的鸡肉”。

The Italian researcher developed his 3D printing machine at the Polytechnic⁴ University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain.

这位意大利研究人员在西班牙巴塞罗那的加泰罗尼亚理工大学研发出了自己的3D打印机。

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

他说，他已经开始和一些餐馆老板洽谈，让餐馆向顾客们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'.

他说，厨师们“对这种看起来像牛排但吃起来像蘑菇的东西很感兴趣”。

The scientist told MailOnline: 'We ate them with multiple journalists, and they thought that the plant-based prototypes possessed⁵ a animal meat-like texture.

这位科学家告诉每日邮报网站说：“我们和多位记者一起吃过这种牛排，记者们认为这种基于植物的食品拥有动物肉一般的质感。”

'The taste of the first prototypes is good, but it does't mimic⁶ the taste of animal meat, yet.

“第一个原型的味道还行，但还不像动物肉。”

'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 consistency⁷ and texture, which was not invented yet.

“不过，我并没有因此烦恼，因为模仿动物肉味道的素食技术在过去几年已经被研究出来了，而对我而言，主要挑战在于保持动物肉般的稠度和质感，而这样的技术尚未面世。”

'There is a great demand for hamburgers in the US, but in the Mediterranean⁸ area we usually prefer to eat a piece of actual fibrous meat, and not just products derived⁹ from minced¹⁰ meat.'

“在美国，人们对汉堡的需求量很大，但在地中海地区，我们一般更爱吃有纤维感的肉，而不是用绞碎的肉做出的产品。”

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

他说，该产品的成分是“纯天然的、基于非转基因植物并被核准用于世界各地的食品中”。

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，他的目标是在5到10分钟内、用不到50美分的成本生产出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 absurdity¹¹ of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium".'

西昂提说，我们现在离丘吉尔1931年的预言越来越近，丘吉尔曾说过：“我们将不再为了吃鸡胸肉或鸡翅而荒唐地饲养一整只鸡，而是将在合适的介质中分别饲养这些部位。”

The objective was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions¹² from livestock¹³, which represent 14.5 percent of the total greenhouse emissions caused by man, he said.

西昂提说，最终目标是降低牲口产生的温室气体，这部分温室气体占据了人类导致的温室气体总排放量的14.5%。

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

他还说，素食牛排还需进一步改进，才能看起来像餐厅菜单上的寻常菜品。

'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.

西昂提告诉西班牙《国家报》说：“牛排的外观可以通过投入时间、研发新品来改进，因为食品的卖相对消费者来说非常重要。”

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

他说，等他开始大规模生产后，目前制作牛排所需的成本和时间都会下降。

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

该大学的一名厨师说：“这种假牛排很好煎。它们不会烧焦，也不会粘锅。”