I keep coming back to poly vinyl acetate.

Manufactured meat isn’t as good as natural meat because it has the wrong texture. The actin doesn’t grow in a consistent direction, so it doesn’t taste like meat.

So the obvious fix is to grow the manufactured meat on a fibrous skeleton made of polymer, to replace the structural framework of actin. But which polymer.

Some plastics are too strong, the stringiness can’t be easily cut with the teeth. This includes:
kevlar
nylons
polyester
PTFE
mylar
hemp fibre
other plant fibres
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (perhaps)
Rayon / viscose

Before leaving these, I just want to mention that pure cotton has a pleasant taste. It goes down a treat in short lengths but strands can’t be cut by the teeth.

We can eliminate brittle plastics, those that crack with shape edges. This includes:
Polycarbonate – which is also the plastic that releases hormone-like substances
bakelite
nitrocellulose
epoxy (sometimes)
vinyl (sometimes)
acrylic
cyanoacetate (my guess, I’ve never tried eating it, perhaps the cyanide monomer puts me off)

We can eliminate plastics with a foul taste and those that release a foul smell on cooking. This includes:
Urea-formaldehyde – foul smell on cooking
Poly vinyl chloride – foul smell on cooking
Polystyrene – foul smell on cooking
Polyurethane – the worst tasting plastic of all of them
Contact adhesive

That leaves some others to avoid.
Silicones – soft and chewy but too tough
Latex and synthetic rubber – a very real possibility, soft and chewy, may be too tough
Teflon – call it a personal bias, but I’d prefer to avoid fluorocarbons
Keratin & wool – again a personal bias, but I don’t find it tempting, mostly because the fibres scratch
Starch – too soft when cooked for meat
Spandex is a polyether-polyurea copolymer – I’d prefer to avoid urea

The following seem possible, perhaps:
Polyvinyl acetate – the nicest flavour of all the plastics, soft but not too soft, chewable and not too tough
Low density polyethylene – definitely chewable, a bit too tough perhaps. If that’s the most common insulator on electrical wires then that darn near perfect – no significant flavour.
Tarzan’s grip – whatever plastic that is, nice tasting, chewable, soft but not too soft
And also, as I mentioned above, possibly latex.

Tell you what, I’ll have to check. Check the insulation on electrical wires by putting it in a flame and smelling it. If it stinks then that’s PVC and not suitable.

I don’t think there is any edible plastics.

Recent advances in bioengineered scaffold for in vitro meat production

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9758038/

In vitro meat production via stem cell technology and tissue engineering provides hypothetically elevated resource efficiency which involves the differentiation of muscle cells from pluripotent stem cells. By applying the tissue engineering technique, muscle cells are cultivated and grown onto a scaffold, resulting in the development of muscle tissue. The studies related to in vitro meat production are advancing with a seamless pace, and scientists are trying to develop various approaches to mimic the natural meat. The formulation and fabrication of biodegradable and cost-effective edible scaffold is the key to the successful development of downstream culture and meat production. Non-mammalian biopolymers such as gelatin and alginate or plant-derived proteins namely soy protein and decellularized leaves have been suggested as potential scaffold materials for in vitro meat production. Thus, this article is aimed to furnish recent updates on bioengineered scaffolds, covering their formulation, fabrication, features, and the mode of utilization.

…scaffold plays an important role in ensuring the efficient transport of oxygen, nutrients, and waste products to and from the cells, as well as controlling the geometry and cell type distribution of the growing tissue, and constitutes a significant portion of the final product. However, because scaffold is a major component of in vitro meat, it should have the same composition and properties as natural meat. Moreover, the composition and fabrication techniques used to form the scaffolds affect its architecture, including porosity, pore size distribution, and interconnectivity, all of which play important roles in muscle cell adhesion, proliferation, and growth (Orellana et al. 2020). Scaffolds made of Matrigel and mammalian biopolymers such as bovine gelatin, collagen, fibrin, and hyaluronic acid (HA), on the other hand, have been widely used in a variety of tissue engineering applications (Enrione et al. 2017). Recognizing the significance of edible scaffolds, the current article delves into the formulations, fabrication, key characteristics, and application of edible scaffolds for in vitro meat production.

kale

Have a look at this table from the burn test.

Avoid plastics with a foul odour, such as rancid butter.

On the other hand, an odour of burnt sugar is yummy.

https://www.boedeker.com/Technical-Resources/Technical-Library/Plastic-Identification

.all plastics are ediblE

Can meat fibres be knitted together to give them a framework

Why does one have to create artificial meat?
We have always had lentils.

roughbarked said:

Why does one have to create artificial meat?
We have always had lentils.

Well, i may have just been particularly unfortunate, but on the several occasions when i’ve tried/bought/been served lentils, i found them to be an eating experience comparable to consuming items ranging from cardboard to dirt.

So, if they, or similar vegetable matter can be presented in a more flavourful and attractive manner, it would be an improvement, in my own opinion.

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

Why does one have to create artificial meat?
We have always had lentils.

Well, i may have just been particularly unfortunate, but on the several occasions when i’ve tried/bought/been served lentils, i found them to be an eating experience comparable to consuming items ranging from cardboard to dirt.

So, if they, or similar vegetable matter can be presented in a more flavourful and attractive manner, it would be an improvement, in my own opinion.

Ha it is all in the way they are cooked. I’ve served up lentil loaf and was asked the question, “thought you didn’t eat meat?”

https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/incredible-edible-plastic

fsm said:

https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/incredible-edible-plastic

Thanks for that link, fsm.

> Well, i may have just been particularly unfortunate, but on the several occasions when I’ve tried/bought/been served lentils, i found them to be an eating experience comparable to consuming items ranging from cardboard to dirt.

Lol.

Yes, unless the maillard reaction is invoked, or heavily spiced, lentils can be particularly unappetising.

The skim on my milk coffee?

(Plastics vs. Polymers: What’s the Difference?
By : wkmounts / 16 Jan, 2020
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, polymers and plastics are not always the same thing. Polymers can exist organically or be created synthetically, and consist of chains of joined individual molecules or monomers. Plastics are a type of polymer composed of chains of polymers which can be partially organic or fully synthetic.

Simply put, all plastics are polymers, but not all polymers are plastics. Below, we examine the composition, physical properties, and applications of polymers and plastics to provide a clear explanation of the differences between the two.)

mollwollfumble said:

fsm said:

https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/incredible-edible-plastic

Thanks for that link, fsm.

> Well, i may have just been particularly unfortunate, but on the several occasions when I’ve tried/bought/been served lentils, i found them to be an eating experience comparable to consuming items ranging from cardboard to dirt.

Lol.

Yes, unless the maillard reaction is invoked, or heavily spiced, lentils can be particularly unappetising.

Overcooked lentils aren’t nice, in dahl quite tasty