If we really are what we eat, in the future we can expect to see changes which will amaze us at the very least. For food, for that matter, an unprecedented revolution is underway, ready to change not only our eating habits but also the very concept of food itself. A publication by Sial analyses the five most futuristic food trends.
1- 3D Printers for Food
From the ‘d’ of doughnut, drumstick and devilled eggs to the “d” of 3D printing, which very soon could be creating these products as well as many others, as the evolution of 3D printers for food is happening at such a fast pace. In the near future they will be able to create complete and personalised meals.
2- Test Tube Meat
After two years of experimenting and more than three hundred thousand dollars of investment, a team of scientists from the Netherlands has succeeded in producing a hamburger in a laboratory. In the subsequent press conference, journalists took part in a taste test and then published their rather contrasting reviews. Despite the inevitable issues raised, the scientists will continue to perfect the technique, confident that by doing so they will be able to help combat world hunger.
3- TomTato, the Multitasking Plant
This is not a genetically modified organism, not in the modern sense of the term anyway. It is rather a hybrid made by grafting the two plants together, using the fact that the tomato and the potato share sufficient genetic traits to enable them to coexist on the same stem. At the moment, this horticultural feat will only be available in the United Kingdom, with the rather appropriate name of TomTato.
4- Molecular Gastronomy
Transforming the flavours of food by adding a dash of chemistry and a pinch of physics – by using this technique, it is possible for example to create “apple caviar.” Apple juice mixed with sodium alginate then dipped into a bath of calcium transform, by a process called base spherification, into miniscule balls with thin, barely detectable membranes. As they hit your palate they gently burst just like real caviar.
5- Surviving with Soylent
The company which produces this liquid supplement, called Soylent, believes that it is perfectly capable of replacing meals. Its special blend would provide all the necessary nutrients, avoiding what the producers consider the tedious and costly routine of cooking. Natural scepticism aside, the company has already taken more than one and a half million pre-orders, and expects to launch its ready meal to the market next January.
