Up until now, the donor for the world’s first test tube burger was anonymous.
Not any more, Sergey Brin who is the co-founder of Google is the donor of the £220,000 (over R3 million).
5 years in the making, the 5oz patty was made from lab-grown “cultured beef” by creator Professor Mark Post.
The #CulturedBurger will be tasted by Chicago author Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researcher Hanni Rützler.
The world’s first stem cell burger will be fried by Richard McGeown, chef of Couch’s Great House Restaurant in Polperro, England.
Natural colourants (Saffron) were added as well as some bread crumbs. The most relevant ingredient that is missing is fat.
Twitter is a-flurry over this historical event…
@henryfountain
How it’s made (1): muscle stem cells from cow neck are multiplied, put in petri dish, differentiate to become muscle cells. #culturedbeef
@henryfountain
How it’s made (2): Muscle cells form ring-shaped fibers which are then cut to make strips. 20,000 strips = 1 burger. #culturedbeef
@CulturedBeef
#culturedbeef is created by painlessly taking muscle cells from a living cow. It’s biologically the same as meat that comes from a cow.
@TheRationaliser
#CulturedBeef I haven’t eaten beef for about 16 years. Looking forward to trying this! I’ll be a test subject!
@susannahbutter
#culturedbeef creator dr mark post says stem cell burger is safe if not safer than beef. He’d allow his kids to try it, and they want to
@CulturedBeef
“How do you overcome the yuck factor?” – Down to marketing, changing the public’s perception. The same as all new technology. #culturedbeef
@liliradloff
@food24 20 years ago people thought IVF babies won’t have souls because God didn’t make them. People will catch on if it’s beneficial.
@alexwatts
Test tube burger creator Prof Post says he believes with current technology he can make cultured beef for $70 a kilo.
@seaef
Google Burger, anyone? RT @food24: This is what the #culturedburger looks like ..[snip] .. culturedbeef.net
@shaunwewege
@CulturedBeef @food24 Surely eating something that had a conscience and emotions is more creepy than eating a man-made food item?
The tasting
Both journalists agreed that the absence of fat left a leaner, less juicy burger. They also said the flavour was quite strong and the mouth-feel very like meat but not exactly like it.
Watch this video from Cultured Beef (Maastricht University) about the test tube burger.
Tell us what you think about the #culturedburger