Dreaming Up the Main Salad of the 22nd Century
“Singe, gut, dress, and roast purely a hazel grouse, shot for a proper banquet,” begins the recipe for Olivier salad published in Our Food magazine, Issue No. 6, 1894. Has it been long since you last singed hazel grouse on New Year’s Eve? The editorial team at the Institute of Winter Wonders couldn’t recall either.
And here we are. Arguing: sausage or meat? If meat, then which kind: boiled chicken, beef, or tongue? Vegan options have appeared, with soy mayo and mushrooms instead of Doctor's sausage [which is delicious, by the way! — Author's note]. Our disputes are a reflection of an era of food abundance and the search for a new ethics.
But science does not stand still. Let’s leap another hundred years forward, to 2126, and see how the main New Year’s salad will change. This isn’t tea-leaf reading. We have assembled the recipe of the future based on cutting-edge scientific papers being published right now. Spoiler: we will return to the hazel grouse, but we won’t need a gun or a burner anymore.
And here we are. Arguing: sausage or meat? If meat, then which kind: boiled chicken, beef, or tongue? Vegan options have appeared, with soy mayo and mushrooms instead of Doctor's sausage [which is delicious, by the way! — Author's note]. Our disputes are a reflection of an era of food abundance and the search for a new ethics.
But science does not stand still. Let’s leap another hundred years forward, to 2126, and see how the main New Year’s salad will change. This isn’t tea-leaf reading. We have assembled the recipe of the future based on cutting-edge scientific papers being published right now. Spoiler: we will return to the hazel grouse, but we won’t need a gun or a burner anymore.
Chapter 2. The Vegetable Base, or Spherical Potatoes in the Mist
Chapter 4. The Salad Color: Green (This Is About Peas and Pickles)
In 2126, potatoes have forgotten what soil is. Growing vegetables in the ground is far too dirty, unpredictable, and water-intensive. The tubers of the future grow in the air. In sealed vertical towers, plant roots hang in complete darkness and are irrigated with a nutrient mist every 15 minutes. This technology, originally developed for space, allows for the control of every milligram of minerals that enters the tuber.
There are no Colorado potato beetles, late blight, or wireworms here, which means there are no pesticides either. Robotic manipulators harvest the crop without touching it with surfaces that could be contaminated. Shovel scars on the tubers have also been left behind in the 21st century.
The result: the potatoes turn out perfectly calibrated in shape (most often spherical, for the convenience of automated slicing) and absolutely clean. They have no "eyes" or skin defects because they didn’t have to push their way through loam. There is no need to wash or peel such potatoes.
There are no Colorado potato beetles, late blight, or wireworms here, which means there are no pesticides either. Robotic manipulators harvest the crop without touching it with surfaces that could be contaminated. Shovel scars on the tubers have also been left behind in the 21st century.
The result: the potatoes turn out perfectly calibrated in shape (most often spherical, for the convenience of automated slicing) and absolutely clean. They have no "eyes" or skin defects because they didn’t have to push their way through loam. There is no need to wash or peel such potatoes.
While scientists "upgraded" carrots to oral vaccines using agrobacteria, peas got the treatment with CRISPR/Cas9 molecular scissors — the microsurgical instrument of the genetic engineering world. The enzymes responsible for turning sugars into starch immediately after harvest have been disabled in the peas of the future — the "cottony" aftertaste has remained in the same century as the shovel-scarred potatoes.
And to avoid boiling them, which destroys vitamins, scientists learned to sterilize canned goods with a pulsed electric field. Microsecond shocks of current inactivate microorganisms without heat, preserving the structure of plant cells exactly as it was in a freshly picked vegetable. This same technology is used for pickling cucumbers.
Only before preservation, the cucumbers don’t ferment spontaneously in a barrel with random bacteria and yeast — now only custom starter cultures are used. These are specially bred strains of lactic acid bacteria that not only ferment the vegetable but also synthesize vitamin B12 and probiotics. And the crunch is guaranteed by the addition of calcium in nanoform, which strengthens the pectin cell walls even in brine.
And to avoid boiling them, which destroys vitamins, scientists learned to sterilize canned goods with a pulsed electric field. Microsecond shocks of current inactivate microorganisms without heat, preserving the structure of plant cells exactly as it was in a freshly picked vegetable. This same technology is used for pickling cucumbers.
Only before preservation, the cucumbers don’t ferment spontaneously in a barrel with random bacteria and yeast — now only custom starter cultures are used. These are specially bred strains of lactic acid bacteria that not only ferment the vegetable but also synthesize vitamin B12 and probiotics. And the crunch is guaranteed by the addition of calcium in nanoform, which strengthens the pectin cell walls even in brine.
Chapter 5. Eggs Are Not What They Used to Be
In the 21st century, eggs were a philosophical, ethical, and environmental problem: which came first, chick culling, rampant antibiotic use... In 2126, we get a product that is biologically identical to the natural one without disturbing a single bird. Our Olivier is dressed with an egg that was "brewed" in a bioreactor by microbial brewers.
Genetic engineering is at work here again, but in a different way. The gene for chicken ovalbumin is inserted into the genome of the fungus Trichoderma reesei or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Feeding on sugar in a vat, the microbes begin to synthesize pure protein on an industrial scale. It whips and coagulates just the same, but it has no cholesterol or salmonella.
It turns out we took the code (genes) from nature, but replaced the "hardware" (the chicken) with a more efficient bioreactor.
Genetic engineering is at work here again, but in a different way. The gene for chicken ovalbumin is inserted into the genome of the fungus Trichoderma reesei or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Feeding on sugar in a vat, the microbes begin to synthesize pure protein on an industrial scale. It whips and coagulates just the same, but it has no cholesterol or salmonella.
It turns out we took the code (genes) from nature, but replaced the "hardware" (the chicken) with a more efficient bioreactor.
Chapter 6. They Reinvented Mayonnaise
The fate of mayonnaise is like the protagonist of a thrilling Netflix series. In the 20th century, it was a hero and a savior; "Provansal" gave Soviet people cheap calories and made everything edible: from staling bread to last night’s fried potatoes that spent the night in the fridge. In the 21st century, mayonnaise was canceled. "Fat bomb," "cholesterol death," "waistline killer" — dietitians, lifestyle media, and healthy-living bloggers called it every name in the book.
In the 22nd century, we had to reinvent mayonnaise.
The taste is the same — thick, creamy, with a slight vinegary tang — but no more plastic buckets or packets living in the fridge for months. The personalized mayonnaise of 2126 is printed by a 3D food printer right onto your plate, a second before serving.
The printer syncs with your med-tracker. Stress levels off the charts? Magnesium and Omega-3 will be added to the emulsion. Overdid the champagne yesterday? The sauce will be enriched with succinic acid and electrolytes. Need to lose weight? The texture will be created not by fats, but by microcrystalline cellulose and plant fibers — 0 calories, 100% feeling of satiety.
In the 22nd century, we had to reinvent mayonnaise.
The taste is the same — thick, creamy, with a slight vinegary tang — but no more plastic buckets or packets living in the fridge for months. The personalized mayonnaise of 2126 is printed by a 3D food printer right onto your plate, a second before serving.
The printer syncs with your med-tracker. Stress levels off the charts? Magnesium and Omega-3 will be added to the emulsion. Overdid the champagne yesterday? The sauce will be enriched with succinic acid and electrolytes. Need to lose weight? The texture will be created not by fats, but by microcrystalline cellulose and plant fibers — 0 calories, 100% feeling of satiety.
Olivier 2126 is not the dystopia of Blade Runner 2049, where people eat synthetic worms, nor Metro 2033, where they drink mushroom tea, nor the tasteless paste from Cyberpunk 2077. For the editors of the Institute of Winter Wonders, Olivier 2126 is a symbol of the triumph of technology and the historical memory of a healthy human being. It is the ideal salad with the taste of 19th-century haute cuisine — without sacrifice, without harm to the environment or waistline, and yet still the symbol of the New Year.
Chapter 1. The Meat Base, or The Return of the Hazel Grouse
In 2126, we will return the very game from Lucien Olivier’s original recipe to the salad, but not a single shot will ring out in the forest to make it happen. The meat for our Olivier grows in steel bioreactors. But this is not the shapeless "test-tube mince" that children were frightened with in the 2020s. This is a full-fledged fillet with a complex texture.
The secret lies in scaffolding technology. For muscle cells not just to multiply but to align into fibers, they need a framework. Scientists use plant-based matrices for this purpose — for instance, the "skeletons" of spinach leaves from which the plant’s own cells have been removed, leaving only the cellulose veins. Or scaffolds made of textured soy protein.
Stem cells of the hazel grouse are seeded onto this framework. They cling to the "scaffold," differentiate into muscle and fat, and begin to contract under microcurrent stimulation, acquiring the firmness of real meat. The result: we get the authentic taste of 19th-century game, but without birdshot in our teeth, without antibiotics, and with zero risk of catching bird flu.
The secret lies in scaffolding technology. For muscle cells not just to multiply but to align into fibers, they need a framework. Scientists use plant-based matrices for this purpose — for instance, the "skeletons" of spinach leaves from which the plant’s own cells have been removed, leaving only the cellulose veins. Or scaffolds made of textured soy protein.
Stem cells of the hazel grouse are seeded onto this framework. They cling to the "scaffold," differentiate into muscle and fat, and begin to contract under microcurrent stimulation, acquiring the firmness of real meat. The result: we get the authentic taste of 19th-century game, but without birdshot in our teeth, without antibiotics, and with zero risk of catching bird flu.
Chapter 3. The Salad Color: Orange (This Is About Carrots)
An engineering embarrassment happened with carrots. Unlike potatoes, they refused to grow straight in aeroponic towers. It turned out that to form a proper cone, the root needs the physical resistance of dense soil. In the nutrient mist, the carrot lost its bearings, twisted, and turned into a bizarre "octopus."
Marketers tried to sell it whole as a "craft art-vegetable," but consumers didn’t appreciate the idea. The solution was found in packaging. Now, such "ugly" but nutritious carrots are diced into perfect cubes right at the factory and packed into smart reusable containers. These containers are made not of plastic, but of a biopolymer based on mycelium or algae. Moreover, they are equipped with a freshness sensor: as soon as freshness drops, the container changes color from green to red. You return the used container to the delivery drone upon receiving your next order — at the sorting station, it is sterilized and sent for reuse or processed into a nutrient substrate.
But let’s return to the carrot itself — in the 22nd century, it has become a true edible bioreactor for molecular farming. Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, scientists force the root cells to produce complex recombinant proteins — for example, viral antigens or human interferon. Such proteins are stable inside the plant cell and work as an edible vaccine against diseases considered incurable just 100 years ago.
Marketers tried to sell it whole as a "craft art-vegetable," but consumers didn’t appreciate the idea. The solution was found in packaging. Now, such "ugly" but nutritious carrots are diced into perfect cubes right at the factory and packed into smart reusable containers. These containers are made not of plastic, but of a biopolymer based on mycelium or algae. Moreover, they are equipped with a freshness sensor: as soon as freshness drops, the container changes color from green to red. You return the used container to the delivery drone upon receiving your next order — at the sorting station, it is sterilized and sent for reuse or processed into a nutrient substrate.
But let’s return to the carrot itself — in the 22nd century, it has become a true edible bioreactor for molecular farming. Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, scientists force the root cells to produce complex recombinant proteins — for example, viral antigens or human interferon. Such proteins are stable inside the plant cell and work as an edible vaccine against diseases considered incurable just 100 years ago.
Nikita Lavrenov //
PhD in Biology, science journalist, producer of image projects at Skoltech, the voice of Snowtech. Dreamer
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