Coming to Christmas lunch soon ... lab ‘turkey’ and cheese made from peas

The roots of Christmas meals can be traced back to the Tudors.

But 500 years is a long time, and it seems scientists believe the traditional turkey roast is ripe for a makeover.

They have come up with a host of culinary innovations – including labgrown meat and pea cheese – which they claim will keep food that is nutritious, affordable and healthy on the table for generations.

A future festive starter, for example, could be ‘SuperSoup’ – nutritionally supercharged to help support metabolic health over the festive period.

The soup includes a special type of broccoli with increased levels of glucoraphanin – a chemical compound that helps maintain healthy cholesterol and blood glucose levels and which could even help stave off diabetes.

The product, launched in 2022, was developed by Smarter Naturally – a company which was spunout from the Quadram Institute, a research centre in Norwich.

Meanwhile pigs in blankets – a firm favourite – could eventually come from seaweed-fed animals. Scientists at Queen’s University Belfast are studying how animals fed with the aquatic plant have a reduced need for antibiotics.

And even the festive centrepiece – the turkey – might soon be made with lab-grown meat to reduce demand on poultry, according to the Government’s UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency.

Scientists across the UK are working towards developing a range of alternative proteins – meat made from plants, cultivated from animal cells or produced through fermentation in a lab.

While a test-tube turkey might not sound too appetising, B-Hive Innovations in Lincoln is developing the ‘super-spud’ by using gene editing to create potatoes which are healthier, bruise - resistant and cook faster.

While they can be controversial, many people also enjoy sprouts with their main meal.

Wild weather threatening their supply could be combatted through research at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.

Their work is helping to reduce the vulnerability of our brassica food supply chain, including sprouts, to fluctuations in climate change.

Finally, it’s not Christmas without cheese and wine.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham spin-out firm The Good Pulse Company have developed ‘Cheese From Peas’. This alternative from yellow peas has similar properties to dairy cheese but without high levels of fat.

And AI company Deep Planet is working with Sussex’s Rathfinny Wine Estate to help better predict the health, yields and maturity of its crops.

Stella Peace, from UKRI, said: “As friends and families come together, our opportunity is to make sure the food we share is healthy, nutritious and sustainable.”