Researchers at UC Davis have developed a new edible scaffold that helps cultivated meat better replicate the taste and texture of conventional meat by integrating fats directly into growing muscle tissue. Instead of adding fat later in processing, the team designed a soft, food-grade structure that allows plant-based oils to be incorporated during cell growth, resulting in more realistic texture, mouthfeel, and flavor. The scaffold successfully supported muscle cell growth and maturation while allowing its firmness to be tuned to resemble different meat cuts. This innovation addresses a key challenge in cultivated meat production and represents an important step toward creating whole-cut, consumer-ready cell-based meat products
