I
magine you’re about to take a bite of sharp ched-
dar cheese. The saltiness, the nuttiness, the mild
sweetness—they’re all inherent characteristics of
the cheese, right? To some degree they are, and to
some degree they’re attributable to the tool you’re
using to shovel said cheese into your mouth. In
a recent study in the journal
Flavour
, researchers
from the University of Oxford investigated how
different weights, sizes, colors and shapes of plastic
utensils influenced the perception of sweetness, salti-
ness, density and price of yogurt and cheese. Though the
results were complicated, they tended to express a few simple truisms: Lighter
spoons make food seem heavier and more expensive; blue spoons can make
food taste saltier, especially if the color of the food contrasts; and serving
64
BRIGHT IDEAS
||
INDUSTRY
The unveiling had the theatrics of
a film launch, with a national news anchor
hosting the event at Riverside Studios, an
ugly set of Thames-sidewarehouses that is
be erknownforproducingTVgameshows.
The se ing added to the artificiality of the
occasion, as did the assembled circus of
journalists picking at the sandwiches,mak-
ingweak jokes about the limpmeat within
andinterviewingeachotherforsoundbites.
The star of the show—that is, the
burger—started its life in 2008, when the
Dutch government provided funding for
a program to produce “in-vitro” meat. To
make the burger, the attendees learned,
stemcellshadbeen taken fromcowmuscle
andplaced inanutrient solution toencour-
age tissue growth. These cells were then
arranged into a donut shape on a gel base,
where they grew into strands.
But therewas another star at the launch
aswell.Whentheoriginal fundingdriedup,
in 2010, an anonymous donor stepped in.
On themorning of the launch, themysteri-
ous benefactor was revealed to be Google
co-founder Sergey Brin, who appeared on
a screen wearing a Google Glass headset.
The chef who’d been chosen to cook
the burger, Richard McGeown—clearly
nervous at handling a $330,000 order—
started frying themeat, giving updates on
its status while an infomercial about the
cultivation process, complete with fast-
moving graphics, electronicmusic and the
reassuring baritone of a voiceover artist,
described the pa y as a “transformative”
development. But the audience seemed
more concerned with how it tasted.
The burger, which had been mixed
with beet juice and saffron to “bring out
the natural colors,” was finally sampled
by a couple of food experts, both of whom
voiced issues with its texture and flavor
(without the benefit of a circulatory sys-
tem, the pa y had none of the blood or fat
that make a real hamburger succulent).
Suchquibbles, however, arenot the biggest
obstacle theburgerwill have toovercome if
it’s going to challenge the Big Mac.
There is an inevitable squeamishness
about food products that appear to be the
result of tampering with nature (already
terms like “Frankenburger” aremaking the
rounds). But Isha Datar, who heads New
Harvest, a nonprofit dedicated to research
on alternative sources ofmeat, argues that
such characterizations miss the point.
“Culturedmeat ismore like growing plants
hydroponically than it is like genetically
modifying them,” she says. “It’s creating
the same product but through a differ-
ent process.” Post, meanwhile, suggested
Fork Lickin’ Good
WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY YOUR FOOD TASTES?
TRY USING A DIFFERENT UTENSIL.
Modified foodmakes
many people squeamish.
Already terms like
“Frankenburger” are
making the rounds.
this month’s
AMAZING
FACT
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