Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie and Job for Burger Tester

Mexican spiced pork with fries

Food Diary (July 02, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with strawberries

Lunch: Polenta with tomato coconut oyster sauce

Dinner: Mexican spiced pork with fries, rolled oats with coconut

Baking/sweets:

I wonder how many of you (especially American readers) have checked your calendar recently. July 4 is almost here, I suppose most of you knew that already. July 4 falls on a Monday and guess that, Monday is also the day for another conflicting ‘celebration’, meatless Monday. Will an exception be made? 

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Sparklette

Blueberry cream cheese pie

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: NZ Herald

There is a job opening for a hamburger tester. It is no ordinary hamburger of course, it is a "test-tube" hamburger. The burger is made with beef grown in the lab from stem cells. According to Dutch scientists the hamburger is less than a year away from being produced.  The burger will be grown from 10,000 stem cells extracted from cattle, which are left in the lab to multiply more than a billion times to produce muscle tissue similar to beef.

With demand for meat expected to double in the next 40 years, in vitro meat will be the only choice left, according to Mark Post, a professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. With regards to search for a volunteer the professor said "if no one comes forward, then it might be me." Note that he uses the word ‘might’ which indicates it is not definite. At least he has indicated that he might test it himself, showing at least some confidence in the product.

In 2009, scientists from the same university grew strips of pork using the same method. But it was grey and the texture was similar to calamari. If the scientists have the same luck the beef may have texture similar to fish. It will be fall off the bone, without bone and even before being cooked. 

It is a pity that the hamburgers are not available already, it could have come in handy on meatless Monday. But don’t worry, it should be available the next time July 4 falls on a Monday. By then perhaps a wider selection may become available.