IKEA Test Kitchen Creating Neatballs, Bug Burgers, More ‘Fast Food of the Future’

IKEA’s test kitchen, SPACE10, has been developing dishes with alternative ingredients such as insects, algae, and lab-grown meat. The chef-in-residence and their team reimagined several of IKEA’s classic menu items into healthier, more sustainable, yet still delicious dishes. They may not be available at IKEA retailers anytime soon, but they may be the fast food of the future!

By Sustainable Brands | Published 6 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Space10/Kasper Kristofferson

IKEA’s test kitchen, SPACE10, has been developing dishes with alternative ingredients such as insects, algae, and lab-grown meat. The chef-in-residence and their team reimagined several of IKEA’s classic menu items into healthier, more sustainable, yet still delicious dishes. They may not be available at IKEA retailers anytime soon, but they may be the fast food of the future!

Dogless Hotdog

Packing more protein than a “real” hotdog, the Dogless Hotdog is made with dried and glazed baby carrots, beet and berry ketchup, mustard and turmeric cream, roasted onions, cucumber salad, and an herb salad mix. But its bun is what really takes the cake: its made with a micro-algae called spirulina that contains more beta carotene than carrots, more chlorophyll than wheatgrass, and 50 times more iron than spinach.

Bug Burger

An evolution of the kitchen’s previously developed Crispy Bug Ball “meatballs,” each Bug Burger patty contains 100g of beetroot, 50g of parsnip, 50g of potatoes, and 50g of mealworms — the larval form of a darkling beetle. It is served on a white flour bun and topped with relish, beetroot and blackcurrant ketchup, chive spread, hydroponic salad mix.

Neatball

Neatballs The latest two reinventions of the IKEA meatball were “designed to get people thinking about reducing their meat consumption, using local produce and trying alternative proteins,” SPACE10 explains. One is made with mealworms, while the other is made with root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and beets. The SPACE10 chefs recommend them with mashed potatoes, gravy and lingonberry sauce “for a true Swedish experience.”

LOKAL Salad

Using hydroponically-grown greens – including microgreens from the SPACE10 basement – the test kitchen team developed three combinations of microgreens, sprouts and herbs for their LOKAL salad bar: red veined sorrel, broccoli and tarragon; pea sprouts, pink stem radish and thyme; and borage, red frill mustard and lemon balm. Each has a homemade dressing made with basil, tarragon or lemon balm, and crunchy toppings are made with day-old bread to minimize food waste.

Microgreen Ice Cream

Time for dessert! SPACE10’s microgreen ice cream can be made with fennel, coriander, basil or mint – or a combination of these nutritious herbs and microgreens. The base is made with just 60g of sugar for a 600g batch, with additional sweetness coming from a mix of apple juice, apples and lemon juice. If you’d prefer a popsicle, you can take your pick of hydroponically grown herbs including woodruff, coriander, Spanish chervil and sorrel.