Israeli scientists have developed a method that could significantly reduce the cost of producing cultivated steak, addressing one of the main barriers preventing lab-grown meat from reaching consumers at scale.
Cultivated meat is seen as an alternative to livestock, but producing structured cuts such as steak remains expensive and technically challenging. One of the main bottlenecks is the liquid growth medium, particularly growth factors—proteins that instruct cells to grow and develop into muscle tissue. Researchers say these proteins are among the most expensive components of the process and a key obstacle to scaling production.
To address this challenge, a Hebrew University of Jerusalem study found that binding growth factors directly to a plant-derived cellulose structure allowed bovine stem cells to grow and develop into meat-like tissue while using as few as a 10th of the expensive proteins normally required in the process.
“We took another step to eventually obtain a cut that will look like a steak, feel like a steak, taste like a steak, and contain exactly the same components found in a steak,” research leader Sharon Schlesinger told The Press Service of Israel. “We did it in a form that will imitate the real thing as closely as possible, without the need to raise, feed, water and deal with all the environmental consequences of livestock farming, and also without slaughtering the animal.”
Instead of dispersing growth factors throughout the liquid medium, the researchers attached them directly to a food-safe cellulose scaffold, a plant-based structural material that supports cell growth. This approach changes how cells receive biological signals that drive tissue formation.
The scaffold is created using directional freezing of nano- and microcrystalline cellulose, forming aligned microchannels that guide cell development. In simple terms, this process creates a porous structure that helps cells grow in an organized way similar to natural muscle tissue. These channels are designed to mimic the extracellular matrix, the natural structural network found in muscle tissue.
Bovine mesenchymal stem cells seeded onto the scaffold showed strong adhesion and aligned growth along the fibers, forming muscle-like structures over time.
Over several weeks of cultivation, the cells differentiated into muscle-like tissue, accumulating structural proteins and lipids. This maturation increased stiffness and compressive strength, bringing the engineered tissue closer to the properties of conventional sirloin cuts. The findings suggest improved structural development compared to earlier cultivated meat approaches.
When pan-fried, the cultivated constructs retained their shape and underwent browning reactions consistent with the Maillard effect, a chemical process that occurs when proteins and sugars are heated at high temperatures. Post-cooking testing showed a fibrous texture and mechanical resistance similar to traditional beef, including properties associated with steak-like cuts.
“We do not have the ability to support further growth in livestock farming as the population grows. We must find an alternative food source for those who will be born by 2050, and it cannot be animals,” Schlesinger said.
“Cultivated meat is a field that will make this possible. There are many plant-based substitutes in supermarkets. This field is much more complicated, but it holds great promise. It will be exactly like the real thing. Investment is needed for that to happen, and it may take years.”
The study was published in the peer-reviewed Current Research in Food Science.
