IKEA’s food lab set to release a new cookbook

When you think about food and IKEA, what probably springs to mind are visions of Swedish meatballs and possibly lingonberry jam. However, since 2015 the global housewares giant has been taking a look at food. Space10, IKEA’s global research and design lab, has been working diligently at identifying ways to make food more sustainable. This May, Space10 is coming out with a cookbook on the subject. 

Because Space10 is free to work on issues that have nothing to do with profitability, the cookbook – titled Future Food Today – will function “as inspirational and attainable culinary research” rather than as a peek into possible new menu items for the IKEA cafeteria. That’s probably a good thing, because a lot of the book revolves around concepts like bug burgers and an algae-based hot dog. 

Back to the meatballs. As befitting a free-thinking design lab, the first recipe focused on reimagining the iconic dish. The lab “created a visual exploration of what a more sustainable meatball would look like,” and that dish (called Tomorrow’s Meatball) includes a lab grown beef ball, a food waste ball and a green algae ball. I think I will stick to the Swedish ones for now. 

Photo of Swedish meatballs from Food Network by Alton Brown