How to create an entire meal in a capsule

From how to turn the buttery into a healthy food to creating whole meals within a capsule, experts are due to gather this week to discuss the future of food in Scotland.

Food Futures - The Future of Culinary Experience will look at the big issues in food production and innovation, as well as how we define Scotland’s national palate and make it as healthy as possible for future generations.

The event brings together more than 25 food producers, academics, designers and retailers to collaborate and create innovative ideas that could be brought to market.

A £20,000 fund will be secured to bring the best idea raised over the two -day event to bring it to market.

Sue Fairburn, senior design lecturer at Gray’s School of Art, said part of the event would examine how we can adapt Scotland’s favourite foods into something more nutritious.

She pointed to the rowie or buttery - a high fat, high salt bread roll common in the north east - as being ripe for a healthy makeover.

Ms Fairburn said :“I think there is a real opportunity here. Look at the rowie and how we bring that into the modern age. I think it is about acknowledging our food preferences and how to bring better nutritional value into what we are currently eating.

“Some people who eat very traditional foods and its difficult to change these diets. A big question is how can you reconsider the thing they are already eating so they have additional nutritional value.”

Ms Fairburn said that work was already ongoing at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen to introduce plant-based proteins and vegetables into butteries and other bakery products.

Miniaturization of food was another key area of interest, Ms Fairburn added:

She said: “This is were it all gets quite 2001 and you are taking a capsule containing all the energy and nutrients you need rather than eating a full meal.”

The 3D “printing” of food where edible substances are printed or embossed with nutritional substances was also an important area of discussion, with technology already being used for food sent to space stations, Ms Fairburn added.

This can replace the need for mass food production but can also be used for very customised food production, she said.

Food Futures - a Design in Action (DiA) event -will start with a talk from chef Nick Nairn tomorrow (October 20) at the Doubletree by Hilton in Dunblane, where he has a restaurant.

It is the third food “chiasma” that has been run by DiA in as many years, with the first year leading to Beer52, a young start up monthly beer subscription service, emerge as the winner of the £20,000 funding prize.

The company now has more than 10,000 active members and is the UK’s leading craft beer club.