Top 8 Food Innovations Of 2015
From ice cream scooping to salmon filleting to water filtering, there have been some humongous breakthroughs this year.
It’s been a great year for the evolution of cuisine, though, honestly, the biggest changes occurred in culinary science and equipment.
From ice cream scooping to salmon filleting to water filtering, there have been some humongous breakthroughs this year. Whether you’re looking for better tools or far-reaching social change, it’s all here.
1. The Midnight Scoop
It’s like they reinvented the wheel. Photo: @spinstar_au / Instagram
This is the simplest item you never you knew needed. But Michael Chou has discovered a way to use leverage to your advantage and make the perfect scoop entirely possible – every time. So jump on the bandwagon for the Midnight Scoop, and stop struggling to get at your favorite frozen treat.
2. XYZ 3D Food Printer
This is as close as it gets to edible artwork. Photo: @natural.machines / Instagram
Hankering for a cube of Cheetos? Or maybe an s’more-flavored sphere? How about a small stellated dodecahedron of shrimp chips? That’s very specific, but the XYZ food printer is here to make your dreams come true.
Like other 3D printers, you just choose the shape and the composite materials and study advanced engineering for eight years — it couldn’t be more straightforward!
3. FreshPaper
Now you can keep that lettuce you keep telling yourself to eat even longer! Photo: @cropyyc / Instagram
FreshPaper may be one of the simplest, yet most influential innovations of the year. This organic and biodegradable paper allows produce to last 2-4 times longer than they typically would otherwise.
When you consider that about a quarter of the world’s food gets lost to spoilage, the effects of this invention could travel a lot further than just your crisper drawer.
4. Gluten-Free Banana Flour
From lab to table. Photo: @ggbindia / Instagram
Here is another prime example of a young innovator looking to put the world’s waste to use. In this case, it’s the millions of tons of bananas that spoil before ever reaching consumers.
Apparently, some Swedish grad students had heard enough gluten-free belly-aching and decided to create a flour substitute made of bananas. Additionally, the natural sweetness of the bananas can cut down on any added sugar for recipes.
5. Tomato Sushi
You’ll wind up smothering the flavors in soy sauce just like you do to tuna. Photo: @thetomatosushi / Instagram
The words “sustainable” and “vegan” are probably the last things on your mind when you’re enjoying sushi, but we’re currently overfishing many of the world’s remaining fisheries.
With that in mind, Chef James Corwell set about creating a flavorful alternative to a popular fish that would suit picky palettes.
Using sous vide techniques to taste, he created a palatable, tomato-based alternative to tuna that should keep us in the sushi game, long-term.
6. Pantelligent
An artificially intelligent frying pan you can trust until it turns into the Terminator. Photo: @irangear / Instagram
Want to cook excellent food, but don’t know your ass from your elbow macaroni? Pantelligent is exactly the item you need. With smart sensors and a synced app, the pan tells you when to start cooking things from salmon to bacon to risotto.
By telling it how thick your meat is or how many servings you’re making, the app automatically adjusts to let even you cook the perfect meal every time.
7. The Drinkable Book
Purifies your water and gives you something to read while you drink it! Photo: @designandpaper / Instagram
While many in the developed world know about the dangers of contaminated water, few in developing countries do. That’s why the message of The Drinkable Book is so important.
The book is not just an educational tool that shares common practices for avoiding contamination, but every single page is a water filter, meaning the book essentially practices what it preaches.
The paper specifically targets cholera, E. coli, and typhoid, and could provide up to four years of safe drinking water.
8. Power Pasta
Meat sauce everywhere just released a collective sigh of relief. Photo: @power_pasta / Instagram
Love pasta, but hate the bloated feeling that you get after munching on the stuff? Well, Power Pasta has your back with a bevy of protein-packed pasta options from you to enjoy.
Using legumes instead of grains, they’ve concocted a product that contains no gluten, 21+ grams of protein, and 15+ grams of fiber in each three-ounce serving.
For athletes, vegetarians/vegans, and gluten-free eaters, the choice of red lentil or black bean flavored pasta is sure to revolutionize their diets.